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NAMELESS IMMORTALS, 



BY 

REV. H. M. SYDENSTRICKER, A.M., Ph.D. 



Nashville, Tenn.; Dallas, Tex.: 

Publishing House of the M. E. Church, South. 

Barbee & Smith, Agents. 

1901. 



**£ 



THE LIBRARY OF 
CONGRESS, 

Two Copies Received 

APR, 27 1901 

COPYRWHT ENTRY 

CLASS 6^XXc. N®. 
COPY B. 



Copyrighted, 1901, 

BY 

H. M. Sydenstricker. 




grriicEttmx. 



To the Many Humble and Obscure Servants 

in Christ's "Vinei-ard, 

whose names, though here unknown, 

are written in the lamb's book of life; 

whose labors, though here unnoticed, 

shall be crowned in heaven — 

This Little Book 

Is Most Affectionately Dedicated 

by the Author. 



CONTENTS 



Chapter Pago 

Introduction 5 

I. The Woman at the Well, or the Un- 
expected Meeting - - -24 

II. The Kiss of True Love 45 

III. The Magic Touch of Faith - - 68 

IV. The Foreigner's Conquest - - 90 
V. The Crooked Made Straight - - 113 

VI. The Triumph of Grace - - 133 

VII. The Power of Importunity - - 155 

VIII. The Widow's Joy - - 175 

IX. The Widow's Mite, or the Weight of 

a Farthing ... 195 

X. The Nameless Immortals in Group 215 



THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 



INTRODUCTION. 

" Something beyond! Ah, if it were not so, 
Darker would be thy face, brief to-day, 
Earthward we'd bow beneath life's smiting woe, 
Powerless to pray. 

" Something beyond! The immortal morning stands 
Above the night; clear shines her precious brow; 
The pendulous star in her transfigured hands 
Brightens the Now." 

— Mary Clemmer. 
j 

Numerous volumes have been written about 
the great men in Bible history. There are a 
few illustrious characters around which all 
else centers. They were the successful leaders 
of their times. They were the men selected 
by God and appointed for special works and 
occasions. They are the epoch-making men. 
of their times. Some of them were brilliant 
successes in their great missions, while others 
were signal failures. We are too apt to think 

5 



6 THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 

that these prominent characters were the only 
great men in those times. 

Abraham was the father of the faithful, 
but he was not the only one of true, heroic 
faith. So Joshua, Joseph and a host of others 
have taught us the secret of true success. 
Saul, Absalom, Judas and many others demon- 
strate the negative side of the problem. The 
successes and the failures are necessary to 
make the book a complete guide for man. Not 
only the precepts of the inspired volume, but 
the lives and characters it delineates as well, 
give us infallible rules of faith and practices. 
It not only gives the rules and laws of life, 
but it affords us beautiful illustrations of the 
application of these rules in leading to the 
highest degrees of success, and the most signal 
failures as the result of not observing the di- 
vine law of life. Far-famed heroes and dis- 
graceful failures, towering monuments and 
shattered wrecks are seen all along the line 
of human history — sacred and profane. 

In the same great record, covering so many 
centuries of human history, not a few illus- 



THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 7 

trious women appear on the stage, whose 
names will go down through all time. Some 
of them are made immortal by military and 
civil achievements. Others live forever as the 
mothers of illustrious men. While those that 
shine with a softer and sweeter light are seen 
ministering in various ways to the blessed 
Christ during his mission on earth. In the 
private home, in the social circle, at the cross 
and at the tomb they are seen, reflecting, as 
it were, the glorious rays of the Son of Right- 
eousness. Sarah and Rebecca, Ruth and Es- 
ther, the Marys and many other names are 
sacred wherever the Gospel of Christ is known. 
And Christian literature has brought these 
names into the mouths of the reading world. 
But, strange as it may seem, many of the 
richest and most important object lessons 
given by Christ were given through the in- 
strumentalities of women whose names never 
appear in history. No class of persons is more 
important or figures more beautifully in the 
life of Christ on earth than these nameless 
women. The names are not given as if it 



8 THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 

were the purpose of the great Teacher to 
emphasize the action rather than the person 
in the scene. All attention is centered on what 
is being done and how, while it is only a 
nameless woman that is doing it. Nameless 
here forever, yet their works make integral 
parts of the great work of Christ, and of the 
gospel of all ages. How often the work is 
estimated entirely by the size of the author's 
name. If his reputation is very great, any- 
thing that he may do — however insignificant — 
is as great as his reputation. Thus the world 
is continually imposed upon. The true char- 
acter and magnitude of an action can be cor- 
rectly estimated only when the actor or author 
is nameless. This seems to have been the idea 
of Christ in bringing so many nameless char- 
acters into his life-work. 

These nameless women appear only once 
each as the great scene moves on. And they 
appear only for a few moments, and then pass 
away never to return. But these brief inter- 
views—these crossings of Christ's path by 



THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 9 

these characters, become rich mines of most 
precious truth. 

We shall be most amply rewarded by making 
a special study of these nameless women. They 
present to us a gallery of wonderful and varied 
pictures. Here we see living incarnations of 
human depravity in its vilest form; examples 
of remarkable, triumphant faith; illustrations 
of sublime humility and submission; occasions 
for manifestations of divine grace in its purest 
form; the bringing together of the most de- 
praved specimens of fallen human nature and 
the immaculate Son of God, as if to make a 
test case of the saving power of the world's 
Redeemer. Hated by the Pharisees and 
spewed out of society, their contact with 
Christ was the more conspicuous, and the les- 
sons more illustrious. Some of them may have 
been left nameless because their very names 
were an offense in their community, but at the 
same time they are just the characters needed 
for the occasion to show forth the power of 
Christ in the rescue of sin-burdened souls, and 
to demonstrate Christ's method of dealing with 



10 THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 

the fallen and lost. Christ's methods are no- 
where so well illustrated as in his dealings 
with these persons, and nothing is more im- 
portant to soul-winners than a careful study 
and a clear, practical understanding of how 
Christ dealt with individuals, both men and 
women. 

This is a most important part of the practical 
training school through which Christ led the 
Apostles for three years, and through them has 
given it to the church in all time. Christ not 
only taught and expounded the law, and per- 
formed all manner of miracles, but, as his chief 
mission was to seek and save sinners, he gave 
special practical instruction how to seek and 
win souls, and how to deal with the poor, the 
distressed and the fallen. Happy is the Christ- 
ian worker who makes Christ his model, and 
is able to apply his methods. But this requires 
careful study and close observation of every 
case in the life of Christ. 

The nameless characters reviewed in this 
little volume are so wisely selected and so dex- 
terously and uniquely dealt with that they give 



THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 11 

us a many-sided view of human nature and of 
Christ's dealings with sinners and saints. Not 
all of these nameless ones are from the lowest 
stratum of human depravity, nor are all from 
the very poor class. They probably come from 
all classes, so that all are represented in 
Christ's dealings with them. There is a re- 
markable variety of character, and of social 
and moral conditions, and of physical ailments 
here represented. The wretchedly poor and 
helpless widow in a variety of aspects; the 
sinburdened outcasts in all of their shame and 
dejection; the unfortunate physically de- 
formed; the chronic invalid; and the shame- 
less polyandrist; all are here seen in contact 
with Christ; and the results of his magic, di- 
vine touch are made manifest. Hence to learn 
many of the most important life lessons taught 
by him while he was going about among the 
people, we must carefully study the very short 
appearances of these nameless characters as 
they pass before us. They pass but once, and 
they remain for only a moment. But for this 
passing moment all the light of the vitascope is 



12 THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 

centered on them; they are the prominent 
figures, and we should study with the utmost 
care every part of the moving scene — every 
word, every action — for they are life lessons 
for us. 

All of Christ's miracles are not only facts 
in themselves, they are not only works of mercy 
and actual redemption, they are not only proofs 
and seals of the divinity and divine mission of 
Christ, but they are living and visible illus- 
trations — or demonstrations — of how Christ 
works in the spiritual realm, in the real saving 
of souls from death. Every one of these great 
works shows just how the work is done, and 
how he uses human instrumentalities to accom- 
plish his divine purposes ; how Christ arranged 
circumstances, and the affairs, and even the 
afflictions, of individuals so as to fit them into 
his divine plans. 

When Christ raised Lazarus from the dead 
it was not only a stupendous miracle in itself; 
it was not only the raising of a dead body to 
life; it was an actual demonstration of the 
meaning of the great doctrine he had just 



THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 13 

stated to Martha, that not only shall the dead 
rise out of their graves, but that all who be- 
lieve on him shall never die. It illustrated the 
spiritual resurrection, the regeneration of the 
soul. This last statement is the greatest and 
most glorious truth he ever uttered — eternal 
life through faith in Christ. There can be no 
death to the believer. To demonstrate his 
meaning, Christ raised Lazarus from the dead. 
And in the process of the miracle he demon- 
strates how he uses human agencies in accom- 
plishing the great work of raising dead souls to 
life. "Take ye away the stone," said he, when 
he came to the grave. In his dealings with 
these unknown women, whether it be miracle 
working, or the demonstration of ideal char- 
acter by parables, or the presenting of the 
plain teachings of the Gospel — in all he brings 
out the very essence of truth as applied in the 
salvation of souls and the development of be- 
lievers. He displays the richest gems of spirit- 
ual knowledge. These incidents fairly bristle 
with fine points and glitter with jewels of 
thought. No two present the case in precisely 



14 THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 

the same way. Each one brings out something 
new. Hence we must study all of them care- 
fully as so many carefully selected specimens, 
so that we may gain the total concept of the 
4 grand ideal. And as we sit at his feet to 
learn from these nameless ones, let us come in 
the spirit of humility that characterized the 
most illustrious of them, and secured for them 
such glorious results, that we, too, may re- 
ceive the full measure of the divine benedic- 
tion. 

But the entire physical and spiritual make- 
up of woman has an important bearing on the 
study of these nameless characters. They must 
needs be women in order to meet precisely the 
purpose of Christ in giving these demonstra- 
tions. Men would not have answered Christ's 
purpose so well. They do not furnish the speci- 
mens he desires to exhibit, and which it is nec- 
essary to have in his work. While there is no 
essential difference between the man and the 
woman in their general make-up — they are 
fashioned alike as to their souls and bodies — 
there is, however, a difference of temperament 



THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 15 

and texture that affects, in some degree, the 
moral and religious nature of woman. And 
while religion — godliness — is precisely the 
same in its essence in all persons, it varies in 
its outward effects and produces, at least 
slightly, different experiences. 

1. The spiritual make-up of woman is of 
finer material than that of man. Not different 
in any sense, only of finer texture and differ- 
ently tempered. They are both constructed 
after the same model. They both have the 
same soul faculties and powers. But as the 
texture of steel differs and may be differently 
tempered, and so is capable of being made into 
a finer-edged tool, so is woman as compared 
with man. The difference is rather one of 
degree than of structure and essence. The 
soul-powers that are prominent in religion pre- 
dominate to a greater degree in woman than 
the man. Notably, the emotional powers, as 
also trust, confidence, humility, fear, and the 
aesthetic taste. This is not a matter of culti- 
vation in woman, but it is the natural make-up 
of her soul. Hence this quality in woman 



16 THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 

makes her naturally more susceptible to the 
Christian religion — it is more natural to her 
than to the man. The same sentiments that 
predominate in Christianity also predominate 
in woman. 

This being true, it is easily seen how woman 
can be the best or the worst being on earth. 
These finer qualities and soul-powers quick- 
ened and cleansed by divine grace may yield 
the highest ideal of refined humanity. The 
beautiful and the good may reach their climax 
in this life in a thoroughly Christian woman. 
Not that she excels in motive or character or 
genuineness of faith and love, but only in de- 
gree. She has less to overcome in reaching 
the higher degrees of religious experience than 
man. But while she may be the best, she may 
also be the worst These finer qualities de- 
voted to the service of sin take her to the 
opposite extreme. When her light becomes 
darkness, how great is that darkness. When 
her love becomes hatred it is of the most cruel 
sort. When her faith becomes infidelity it is 
of the worst form — nothing is so unbecoming 



THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 17 

and so unnatural as an infidel woman. That 
woman, who is the mother of the incarnate 
Son of God, should become an unbeliever ap- 
pears most unreasonable. That woman, for 
whom Christianity has done so much, should 
close her heart against the Savior of the world 
seems most inexcusable. When the beauty and 
aesthetic taste of woman are given over to the 
service of sin, how low she may fall in degra- 
dation and vice. The totally depraved woman 
is doubtless the worst character the earth ever 
supports. And when her powers are refined by 
divine grace and given to the service of Christ, 
she is indeed the most noble being on earth. 
These natural endowments of woman make it 
possible that the most illustrious examples 
may be found in the dealings of Christ with 
women. His power to save, his grace and his 
pardoning love, are best displayed and tested 
when brought in contact with extreme cases of 
depravity and sim And we may expect to see 
some of the finest specimens of his work when 
he takes in hand an utterly hopeless case, re- 
jected by the world, and steeped in the vilest 



18 THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 

sin. The best specimen of such a character is 
found only in the person of a woman, who, with 
all her powers and passions, has been enslaved 
to the lowest forms of vice. 

2. Woman's physical constitution, as well as 
her relation to the other sex and to the public, 
makes her more helpless, and more dependent, 
than man. God has so made it. The interde- 
pendence of man and woman is really the basis 
of all domestic as well as social happiness. 
Neither can be independent of the other. To 
make them so is to violate the fundamental 
principles of all that is good. It is not good 
for man to be alone, and the very creation of 
the woman shows that she is only a part of the 
man. But as she is, in a sense, — not to her 
disparagement in the least — the weaker vessel, 
so is she the more dependent of the two. She 
is the weaker vessel only as the translucent 
chinaware is weaker than the coarser, heavier 
earthenware. The emancipation of woman 
from slavery and the bondage of sin through 
the gospel is the greatest work that can ever be 
accomplished on earth. To reinstate her into 



THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. * 19 

equality with man that she may fulfill the pur- 
pose of her creation, is to bestow upon her the 
greatest of all temporal blessings. But the 
modern idea of the independence of woman — 
that she is to be her own bread-winner and 
provider — that she is to take the place of the 
man in wage-earning and in business affairs, 
is to re-enslave her, and to rob her of all the 
refining and ennobling influences that God de- 
signed that she should wield over man. This 
self-imposed thraldom on the part of thou- 
sands of women has unfitted them forever for 
the higher duties and enjoyments of life. These 
women seek to free themselves from depend- 
ence upon men, but in the attempt they only 
make themselves utterly dependent — not upon 
men whom they might love and with whom 
they might live in peace and comfort — but 
they make themselves dependent upon humani- 
ty in its worst and most oppressive form. They 
step down from the heaven-ordained equality 
with men in the highest and purest sense, and 
make themselves tools and slaves of men by 
trying to be a man and to do men's work. 



20 * THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 

Women can never take man's place without de- 
grading herself. The true sphere of woman is 
the highest sphere on earth. God has fash- 
ioned her body and her soul for that sphere — 
a sphere which man cannot fill, and a sphere 
which woman cannot leave without degrading 
herself in body and in soul. 

But this natural dependence and helplessness 
on the part of woman only makes her a better 
illustration of the application of saving grace. 
In some of the cases under consideration it was 
the feeling of helpless dependence that gained 
the victory. What power there is in weak- 
ness. It is woman's dependence upon man that 
wields the power over him. It is the depend- 
ent, the hungry, the thirsty that Christ calls 
to him and blesses, not those who feel their 
self-sufficiency and independence. This char- 
acteristic of woman illustrates most beauti- 
fully and precisely the attitude every soul must 
have towards God before he can bless and save. 
God instantly resists all pride and self-suf- 
ficiency on the part of man. There is nothing 
so becoming to man as true humility and a 



THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 21 

sense 01 dependence when he comes into the 
presence of God. Woman's natural relation to 
man not only illustrates this principle, but it 
makes it easier and more natural for her to 
come to Christ in the true attitude and spirit. 

3. The social nature and relations of wo- 
man are other peculiarities that must be con- 
sidered in studying Christ's dealings with her. 
In society woman is usually the highest or the 
lowest; the best protected or most defenseless. 
Man can sometimes afford to stoop, but woman 
never. A man may marry beneath himself and 
raise his wife to his own level. But when a 
woman marries beneath herself she descends 
to the level of her husband. Frederick the 
Great married a poor peasant girl and raised 
her to his throne. Many of our young ladies 
are willing to sacrifice their millions in order 
to marry those by whom they may be elevated 
to royalty. A woman's social standing usually 
measures her influence — her power with others. 
Social position is superior to all else. 

Hence it appears that woman's social posi- 
tion very easily affects her relation to Christ 



22 THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 

By the woman in the higher circles of society, 
the religion of Christ is in danger of being 
considered beneath her on account of the hu- 
mility that enters into it as an essential ele- 
ment, while, at the same time, it may recom- 
mend itself to her as a desirable ornament to 
her already highly adorned character. On the 
other hand the woman in the humble walks of 
life meets difficulties of an opposite nature. 
She must face the masses who think her posi- 
tion too humble to allow her equal rights in 
God's house, while the notoriously sinful are 
rejected by the Pharisaic spirit in society as 
being entirely unworthy of even touching the 
Savior's feet. So the lower classes of women 
must literally push their way through in order 
to obtain the desired blessing, while the elite 
consider it almost beneath their dignity and 
social standing to seek that which is free to all 
classes. 

It is interesting to see how Christ deals with 
these different classes. The very humble, the 
extremely poor, the unfortunate invalid, the 
notoriously sinful, and the nondescript foreign 



THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 23 

stranger, all are the subjects of Ms treatment, 
and in a variety of circumstances. Both the 
Savior and the saved are to be carefully ob- 
served. Sometimes he is the chief actor in the 
scene. Sometimes the subject he is treating 
is the prominent character in the action. And 
again both the Healer and the patient are 
equally conspicuous. With this variety of 
scenes and peculiar make-up of characters and 
the supreme, twofold purpose of Christ through 
it all — to save and to teach others how to save 
— we may expect a rich feast in studying these 
nameless women as they come in contact with 
him, whose mission was not to condemn, but 
to seek and to save the lost. 



24 THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 



CHAPTER I. 

THE WOMAN AT THE WELL; OR THE UNEX- 
PECTED MEETING. 

"In some wild Eastern legend the story has been told, 
Of a fair and wonderous fountain that flowed in times 

of old; 
Cold and crystalline its waters, brightly glancing in 

the ray 
Of the summer moon at midnight, or the sun at 

height of day. 

"Ho! every one that thirsteth, come to this fountain 
side! 
Drink freely of its waters, drink and be satisfied! 
Yet linger not, but hasten on, and bear to all around 
Glad tidings of the love and peace and mercy thou 
hast found." 

— Anon. 

The whole of life's journey for each one of us 
is made up of little else than remarkable cir- 
cumstances and strange, unexpected meetings 
and crossings of our paths. With some our 
paths cross and recross every day. They are 
inseparably interwoven and correlated. Side 
by side and hither and thither we move as 



THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 25 

onward we hurry through life. Others' paths 
we cross less frequently; in the business of life, 
in the social circle, or on the great highway 
we meet for a moment, we exchange a word or 
a sign and pass on. A much larger number of 
people we meet but once in life, one crossing 
of our paths, one short interview or mere 
glance of the eye, and we pass on to meet no 
more. But with the great mass of humanity 
we meet not at all, not in time and perhaps 
not in eternity. Strange meetings on life's 
journey, remarkable circumstances in our 
lives. 

Often these meetings mean nothing so far as 
we can now see. We have gained nothing and 
w T e have given nothing. This, however, de- 
pends largely upon our own individuality. We 
may go through this world with our eyes 
closed, never seeing any thing nor any body; 
never shedding a ray of sunlight, nor dropping 
a friendly word: never scattering seeds of kind- 
ness for other passers-by. But these inter- 
weavings of life-paths are not all accidental. 
There is an Eye that guides our feet, a Hand 



26 THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 

that regulates these crossings and recrossings 
so as to work out his wise purpose and make 
the most of our little lives. The greatest op- 
portunities often come to us at these inter- 
sections of our paths, the supreme moment of a 
lifetime is sometimes reached when our narrow 
experience crosses another or flows into it. 

How interesting and instructive it is to study 
our own lives in their strange make-up, and the 
wise purpose of God in them. Here I meet a 
stranger and form a new acquaintance, a new 
tie from which I am never released, though 
I may never see him again. By this touch 
some new idea of life is gained that becomes an 
integral part of my experience and of the 
make-up of my life. A thought was dropped 
into my soul that may become the most valua- 
ble and fruitful in my whole life. I have had 
an opportunity to give as well as to receive. I 
may leave a lasting impression on a receptive 
mind. I may go down through life in the mem- 
ory of that person as a benefactor, or he may 
cherish in his heart a regret that I was ever 
seen. Here again I see the face of an old 



THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 27 

friend. Numerous past events crowd into my 
memory. Kind greetings and words of encour- 
agement are exchanged, and I go on my way 
stronger and happier than before. Some bur- 
den has been dropped, hopes are brightened 
and courage renewed. I have gained much and 
I have had an opportunity to throw a ray of 
light athwart the path of one who is strug- 
gling in the great battle of life. 

But all may not be friends that we cross in 
our way. There are those who not only impart 
no good to others, nor unobservingly pass by, 
but like a luring siren they seek to lead astray, 
or like a hungry lion they are seeking 
whom they may devour. But even these may 
prove a boon to me. I am made more cautious, I 
am led to examine more carefully my strength, 
and so direct my way that I may avoid alluring 
temptations, and be better able to resist the 
powers of sin. In Christ's life among men one 
purpose alone was supreme — to do good. He 
went about fulfilling this great mission. It 
seems to have been the aim of his life to make 
his path so cross all others that he might ac- 



28 THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 

complisli the greatest amount of good to those 
with whom he came in contact. It is in these 
apparently accidental meetings that his pur- 
pose is demonstrated — that the most beautiful 
specimens of his great work are seen. We see 
him nowhere so much a Savior, a real friend to 
fallen man, as when he stoops to confer bless- 
ings upon those whom he met but once, and 
who were considered most obscure and unde- 
serving. 

His meeting with the woman at Jacob's well 
is one of the most interesting and instructive 
incidents in his whole life. It was an occasion 
of a lifetime — an opportunity that must be im- 
proved just then, not only for the woman her- 
self and her immediate relatives, but as an es- 
sential and integral part of his great work. It 
is one of the richest and sweetest morsels in his 
blessed gospel — a pure nugget from the mine. 

For some months Christ had been laboring 
in Judea. It was his first Judean ministry. 
He had gone there immediately after the 
marriage in Cana of Galilee where he had 
turned the water into wine. This marriage 



THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 29 

had taken place some time in April, probably 
early in that month, and immediately there- 
after he began his first public work in Jeru- 
salem, This campaign in Judea was short, for 
now early in July he is returning to Galilee, i 
and it was on this journey that he passed 
through Samaria and met this woman at the 
well. While his first work in Judea was of 
short duration, it was by no means uneventful. 
It was during this time that occurred: 

1. The first cleansing of the temple, by which 
act Christ first openly asserted his authority, 
and condemned the corrupt practices of the 
Jews. It was at this time that he made the 
scourge of small cords and lashed the offenders 
out of the house of God. This was apparently 
a very presumptuous act when we remember 
that Christ was almost entirely unknown at 
that time, and was at the very beginning of his 
public ministry. 

2. It was during his first stay in Jerusalem 
that Nicodemus came to Christ by night, and 
that remarkable conversation took place in 
which Christ formally states the great doc- 



30 THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 

trine of the new birth, and the atonement, as 
recorded in the third chapter of St. John. This 
Mcodemus was ever afterwards a faithful dis- 
ciple of Christ and defended him. 

3. Numerous miracles were wrought by 
Christ during this time, for it was through the 
effect of these miracles that Nicodemus came 
to Christ for information. There is, however, 
no record of any of these miracles given by St. 
John — nor possibly by the other Gospels. 

4. While Christ was in Jerusalem this first 
time, John the Baptist was continuing his 
work in Enon beyond Jordan. But he was 
arrested about the first of July and cast into 
prison at Machaerus. This was done to gratify 
the revengeful Herodias, whose unlawful mar- 
riage with Herod John had condemned. In 
the meantime the success of Christ's preaching 
was arousing the jealousy of the Pharisees, 
which, probably, cut short his work in Jerusa- 
lem at this time, and he quietly withdrew to- 
wards Galilee. 

Just when the little band left Jerusalem 
we are not told. It is, however, quite certain 



THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 31 

that they arrived at the noted well about noon, 
the sixth hour of the day. It is hardly prob- 
able that they had come all the way from 
Jerusalem that forenoon. The distance was 
too great for a half-day's journey on foot. The 
record shows, however, that they had walked a 
long distance, for Christ was weary and they 
were all hungry. It had been a long and tire- 
some and, very probably, a dry and hot tramp. 
They doubtless eagerly pressed on so they 
might rest and refresh themselves at this fa- 
mous watering place so full of sacred history, 
and so near one of the most ancient and noted 
cities of the Holy Land. Here was Abraham's 
first vision of God after he had left Ur of the 
Chaldees in Mesopotamia. Here was the home 
of Jacob after he had returned from his so- 
journ in Padan-Aram. Here the boy Joseph 
was so shamefully treated by his brothers when 
he was sent to them by his fond father, and 
sold by them and taken to Egypt. Here was 
one of the cities of refuge in the early history 
of Israel. Here the brave Joshua made his 
farewell address to the assembled tribes of 



32 THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 

Israel after the land had been divided and 
largely subdued under him. Here were buried 
all the Patriarchs and the bones of Joseph 
brought from Egypt. Here occurred numerous 
other important events in the history of the 
kings. 

And here now the incarnate Son of God — 
the long expected Hope of Israel — sits on the 
well, the poor, weary Son of Man. And of all 
the events that had made this place so sacred, 
none is as important as this. This simple inci- 
dent will perpetuate the history of this place as 
long as the name of Christ remains sacred to 
humanity. 

The Samaritan woman at the well of Jacob 
is another one of those nameless women im- 
mortalized by coming in contact with Christ. 
No name is on record, only the incident and 
the words remain. And nowhere, even in the 
teachings of Christ, were words uttered more 
pregnant with living thought, and more ex- 
pressive of divine wisdom and love. Was this 
casual meeting of Christ with this woman a 
mere accident, or was it one of those beauti- 



THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 33 

fully arranged affairs in Christ's life to make 
an opportunity to accomplish a grand purpose? 
Was it, like the death of Lazarus, brought 
about for the glory of God, and the advance- 
ment of the divine kingdom? Was it all an 
accident that this sinful woman and the thirsty 
Christ should meet at the well all alone in 
order to give the occasion for this interview? 
Many things that appear accidental on the hu- 
man side, are most skillfully manipulated by 
an unseen hand so as to work out the great 
games of life according to the divine will, and 
at the same time not interfere with the free 
agency of man. In the circumstance under con- 
sideration, Christ's being thirsty was the im- 
mediate condition that led to the conversation. 
His asking for a drink of water was the intro- 
duction. 

Be these things as they may, a careful 
study of the situation reveals to us the most 
consummate wisdom and skill in Christ's deal- 
ings with this strange and godless woman. 
There is here a rich mine of good instruction 
for all, both saint and sinner, and especially 
3 



34 THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 

for workers in God's great harvest field. The 
soul-winner may here sit at the feet of the 
great Master and learn the secret of reaching 
the heart — the heart of the most wayward and 
ungodly. There is an avenue to every one's 
heart. To find that secret way is the problem 
to be solved in each case. All are different, 
and precisely the same method will not apply 
to every one; there are, however, general prin- 
ciples that have universal application. Christ's 
management of this woman is exceedingly 
beautiful, and is not only a success in itself, 
but it is a model object lesson, as if Christ 
did this for no other purpose than to teach 
others how to do similar work successfully. 

Notice some of the nice points in this won- 
derful incident: 

1. Christ's simple request for a drink of 
water from this strange woman was the first 
step towards accomplishing his divine purpose. 
However simple and natural the request may 
have been, it was no less a skillful and wise 
stroke of policy on his part. 

This request at once removed all possible 



THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 35 

suspicion from the mind of the" woman. Al- 
though Christ was a perfect stranger and a 
Jew, and she recognized him as such, it was 
still the most natural and reasonable request 
that could be made. That a weary footman 
should ask for a drink of cool water at high 
noon on a hot day in July is just what might 
be expected at a well where there was no 
public means of drawing water. And this re- 
quest could not reasonably be refused, even 
by a Samaritan to a Jew. This request mani- 
fested a degree of confidence on the part of 
Christ that would tend to remove fear and 
suspicion from the woman's mind. 

By accepting the refreshing draught lifted 
by the woman from the deep well, Christ places 
himself under a degree of obligation to her. 
She has become his benefactor by his own re- 
quest, and she is thereby brought into a posi- 
tion where she is more likely to hear him favor- 
ably. In this we see another stroke of policy 
on the part of Christ, a turn full of the nicest 
tact and well applied. There is a large class of 
sinners that can be best and, possibly, only, 



36 THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 

reached by this simple device. It reveals a 
certain degree of confidence in the woman on 
the part of Christ, and a degree of familiarity 
that tends to remove natural timidity and stiff- 
ness. This done, and some of the greatest dif- 
ficulties in reaching the sinner's heart are 
removed. 

There is in this request an element of ag- 
gressiveness on the part of the soul-winner. 
The woman had been silent, and, doubtless, 
would have remained so. There had not even 
been the courteous exchange of greetings, nor 
the least sign of recognition, the two peoples 
having no dealings with one another. Had 
not Christ asked for a drink of water there 
would probably not a word have passed be- 
tween them. Christ was the aggressive party. 
He was the first to speak. 

And Christ said just the right thing at the 
right time. Had he given only the ordinary 
greeting — which was the thing we would natu- 
rally expect — it might have remained un- 
answered, and it would certainly not have led 
so naturally to the prolonged conversation on 



THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 37 

religion, as did the request for a drink. But 
he asked for the thing the woman did not ex- 
pect. She was surprised at his request, and 
this emboldened her to inquire into the very 
unusual breach. Christ had simply ignored the 
prejudice existing between the Jews and Sa- 
maritans and asked for a drink of water, with- 
out making any apology or explanation. That 
Christ should ask this favor of the woman was 
such a surprise to her that she could not re- 
main silent. It is well to surprise sinners and 
enemies sometimes by what they least expect, 
and this may often be done most effectively by 
asking a favor. It may be somewhat humiliat- 
ing on our part, but by the wise soul-winner 
it may be done as a stroke of policy, and if 
wisely applied may be most effective. 

There is in this approach to the woman, 
marked prudence and wisdom. Christ did not 
first speak of religion and sin, and thus intimi- 
date or prejudice her, but while he is in the 
act of receiving the refreshing drink from her 
hand he speaks of the Living Water to which 
he desires to lead her. How naturally the way 



38 THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 

to the spiritual lies through the temporal. How 
frequently does Christ illustrate this by his 
teachings and miracles. Happy is the soul- 
winner that is wise and skillful enough to 
work through the one to the other. 

Once more. We see here an element of hu- 
mility and condescension on the part of Christ. 
He who measures the seas in the hollow of 
his hand and binds up the waters in the thick 
clouds, humbly asks for a drink of water from 
the hand of one of his vilest creatures. And 
all this that he might open her heart in a 
natural and easy manner to receive the Water 
of Life from him, and at the same time teach 
others how to lead perishing souls to the foun- 
tain of Life. 

2. The woman's very natural answer to the 
request of Christ was another step towards the 
desired goal. To her expression of surprise he 
kindly answered that if she had asked of him, 
he would have given her Living Water — much 
more than he has asked of her, and much more 
than she was even able to give to him. The 
conversation that followed leads rapidly to the 



THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 3d 

end sought by Christ. We note the following 
points: 

Christ aims to create in the woman a desire 
or thirst for the Living Water of which he 
had spoken. They who drink it, says he, shall 
never thirst, but shall have within them a well 
of living water. This representation of the 
Living Water would most naturally create a 
desire for it as being the one thing she needed. 
Give her this water and she would not have to 
go to the well ever and anon. This Living 
Water struck her as just the thing she needed. 
She very soon expressed a desire for such a 
boon. Christ should ever be presented as the 
Water of Life to the thirsty soul, the desire of 
all nations. We should ever aim to create in 
the heart of the poor lost one a desire for salva- 
tion — a thirst for the Living Water. 

Christ himself, and he alone, gives this Liv- 
ing Water. However crude and vague may 
have been the ideas of the woman concerning 
this great gift, Christ impressed her with the 
fact that he — and he alone — can give it. The 
world to-day needs to be convinced of this 



40 THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 

great truth, that Christ alone can save. Christ 
and him crucified must be the theme of the 
preaching that saves souls. 

This Living Water is given for the asking 
alone. This brings it at once within the reach 
of the woman, as it does for all who hear the 
gospel message. This makes the obtaining of 
this most desirable of all blessings the easiest 
of all things. How the blessed Christ con- 
stantly emphasizes this element of the gospel — 
"Ask and ye shall receive." 

The asking is the result of knowing. If the 
woman had known the gift of God and who it 
was that was talking to her, she would have 
asked of him. But she knew neither the gift 
nor the giver. Does she not in this particular 
represent the great mass of unsaved humanity? 
Is it not indeed ignorance of this Living Water 
that causes so many to perish for the want of 
it? Do our neighbors and friends who have 
been brought up in a gospel land not really 
know of this Water nor of Christ, that so many 
of them are unsaved? 

The great Teacher has now revealed the se- 



THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 41 

cret of the fountain of life, and how the life- 
giving draught may be obtained. But other 
points are to be gained, other conquests are 
to be made before this work is completed and 
the great lesson finished. This woman was a 
sinner, one whose life was an open violation 
of all that was upright and clean. Just as 
Christ had led her to feel the desire for the 
Living Water, so now his policy is to show her 
the sinfulness of her life, and lead her to the 
confession of her guilt even before she is aware 
of it. 

He asks her to go and bring her husband. 
She quickly answers that she has no husband. 
She does not know that this answer is a con- 
fession of her sinful, adulterous life. She did 
not know that she was standing in the presence 
of Him whose eye was piercing her inmost 
soul, and reading her secret thought and char- 
acter. Christ being a perfect stranger, not 
only in person, but in nationality as well, she 
felt sure he could know nothing of her past 
life, and her present unrighteous mode of liv- 
ing. Did she not rather think for a moment 



42 THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 

that she had gained a double victory by his 
question and her answer? By it she would 
cover her past life and conceal her present re- 
lation with the man with whom she was living, 
and at the same time convince the Jewish 
stranger that he was just a little mistaken as 
to her present relations. We might very easily 
imagine a slight air of triumph in her ready 
answer: "I have no husband." But Christ 
quickly gained his point. The confession she 
made was all that was needed, however, she did 
not yet realize the true situation. Her answer 
w T as intended to convey the impression that she 
was living an upright life, either as a maiden 
or a widow. But Christ's answer to her 
prompt confession is sublimely skillful and 
well aimed. The moment has come for him to 
complete his work. There are in his answer 
three distinct points: 

1. There was a confirmation of what the 
woman had said, and no doubt a momentary 
comfort to her, thinking that he had accepted 
her reply as true, and that he was in a measure 
complimentary. There was something stimu- 



THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 43 

lating in the vigorous expression, "Thou hast 
well said/' had the divine Speaker stopped 
with that. 

2. But this is only the strong bow in his hand 
with which he is about to drive the arrow of 
conviction into the heart of the sinful woman 
before him. It is well that you said that, said 
he, "for" — what a point there is in this little 
word just here — "for thou hast had five hus- 
bands." How it must have astonished her to 
have her past life unveiled by an utter 
stranger. How could he know these things? 
But imagine her surprise when this stranger 
revealed a perfect knowledge of her present 
mode of life. So her evasive answer turns out 
to be only a plain confession of her sinful life. 
What consummate skill is here used by Christ. 
He does not at once and openly accuse her of 
sin, but he adroitly leads her to an open con- 
fession by the very words she had used to 
conceal the truth. What she had said was cer- 
tainly true, but it was not the whole truth. 
How often is it true that those who are not 
Christians condemn themselves by the very 



44 THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 

words they use to justify and excuse them- 
selves. 

3. This turn had thrown a flood of light on 
Christ himself. The woman now sees in him 
more than an ordinary Jew. This clear insight 
into her past life and present character has 
convinced her that she is talking with a 
prophet. She did not deny the accusation nor 
shrink from the truth, but tacitly confessed 
it all by candidly admitting that she "perceived 
him to be a prophet." But how adroitly she 
changes the subject of the conversation, and 
she shows herself to be neither a fool nor an 
ignoramus concerning the teachings of the 
Scriptures and the coming of the Messias. This 
remarkable interview ends with the climactic 
assertion by Christ that he himself who was 
at that moment talking to her was the expected 
Messias — not only a prophet, as she had al- 
ready concluded, but the very Christ in whose 
future advent she had expressed a belief. 



THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 45 



CHAPTER II. 

THE KISS OF TRUE LOVE. 

"To the hall of the feast came the sinful and fair; 
She heard in the city that Jesus was there. 
She marked not the splendor that blazed on their 

board, 
But silently knelt at the feet of her Lord. 

"The hair from her forehead, so sad and so meek, 
Hang dark o'er the blushes that burned on her cheek; 
And so still and so lowly she bent in her shame, 
It seemed as her spirit had flown from its frame." 

— J. J. Callaman. 

The great Teacher had all day been sur- 
rounded by a crowd of listeners, some to catch 
up the words of life as they fell from his lips, 
and eagerly feed upon them as the real Bread 
of heaven. Some followed through mere 
curiosity because there was a crowd and 
something new was constantly expected — 
even the expectation of novelty will always 
draw a crowd of a certain class of people. 
Others came to criticise, and, if possible, find 



46 THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 

some objection or accusation against Christ. 
Perhaps the same elements are to be found in 
every representative assembly to-day, whether 
at church or elsewhere — there is always pres- 
ent the anxious hearer, and the devourer of 
sensational foam, and the critic. 

The most important event of the day thus far 
was the coining of a commission to Christ from 
John the Baptist, who was at this time in 
prison through the jealousy of the wicked 
Herodias. His work was stopped, or, rather, 
it was ended, and he was only awaiting his 
execution. To reassure himself and his dis- 
ciples under these trying persecutions he sent 
a commission to ask Christ if he was indeed 
the Christ, or was another to be expected. 
Whether there was any real doubt in John's 
mind is not stated; it may have been for the 
sake of others that he sent. The occasion, how- 
ever, gave an opportunity for Christ to speak 
of John, to place him in a true light before the 
people and before the world. Christ's teaching 
concerning John is most remarkable. He 
places him in advance of the front rank of all 



THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 47 

the great prophets. He was a prophet, and yet 
more than a prophet. Of all those born of 
woman John was the greatest. Christ's answer 
to the commission from John was unique. At 
the same time, even while the delegates were 
present, many were healed of various ailments 
and afflictions, and even the dead were raised 
— perhaps some one just at this time. These 
miracles constituted the answer of Christ to 
John. What this commission saw was far 
more convincing and conclusive than anything 
Christ could say to them. From these things 
John must draw his own conclusions as to 
Avhether this wonder-worker is indeed the 
Christ. 

How like this is Christ's answer to the 
world to-day. He has left to us an indisputable 
record of precisely the same work to which he 
referred John, only we have more than John 
had. The work of Christ continued more than 
two years after the death of John. Christ 
answers all inquirers and doubters to-day by 
the same argument — his works. 

It was now the hour for dinner, whether 



48 THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 

noon or evening matters not. Christ was doubt- 
less weary and hungry after this very busy and 
toilsome day — for preaching and healing and 
answering all manner of questions was by no 
means easy physically or mentally. He is in- 
vited by a Pharisee to eat at his house. The 
invitation is immediately and courteously ac- 
cepted, and they resort to the Pharisee's house. 
Apparently without any formality, Christ is 
seated at the table. Not even the ordinary 
courtesies are shown him. Whether it was 
the ordinary careless manner of this Pharisee 
to treat his guests indifferently, or whether it 
was done as a mark of special disrespect to 
Christ, does not appear in the record. It is 
clear, however, that Christ noticed the manner 
in which he had been received by his host. He 
manifests no offense, but shows that he has an 
appreciation for even the formal courtesies 
that are due him. Should we not carefully re- 
member and observe these things when we go 
into the Lord's House? And how should we 
treat Christ as our guest? Christ was a 
stranger and sojourner on earth. He is still 



THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 49 

such. He is our guest in our hearts and in our 
homes. How do we receive him and treat him? 
He is our guest here, but we shall be his guest 
in his Father's house, if we truly receive him 
here. While it was by invitation that Christ 
went to the Pharisee's house to eat, it was 
none the less the greatest honor that could be 
bestowed upon that house that they should 
have such a guest. He was poor and homeless, 
but the Son of God. Christ teaches us that as 
we treat the poor and the little ones in our 
homes, so we treat him. These are the helpless 
ones— and, alas, too often the despised ones — 
whom the Lord brings to our homes in order to 
test our love and faithfulness to himself. "He 
that despiseth the poor reproacheth his own 
Maker." 

The house in which Christ was dining was a 
well ordered oriental home. The Pharisee was 
presumably a wealthy man in whose house 
everything was conducted in the best style. 
Yet with all this the distinguished guest was 
not shown ordinary courtesy. The manner was 
as cold and stiff as the house was elegant, and 



50 THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 

the invitation was doubtless as formal as the 
reception was discourteous. Possibly it was 
only for controversy that he was invited. The 
friendly greeting, the cleansing of the dusty, 
tired feet, and the anointing of the head were 
all omitted, all of which appeared only doubly 
inexcusable since Christ was an invited guest. 
Was it possible that this Pharisee had invited 
Christ just to show him his own utter hatred of 
him, and to offer him an insult under his own 
roof? Had Christ gone there uninvited, his 
treatment at the hands of the Pharisee would 
have been less uncivil. But there are those who 
study how they may show disrespect to Christ. 
They study his word only to offer insult by 
distorting and rejecting it, to mutilate it, and 
to scoff at its teachings. There are those who 
attend the sanctuary only to make light of the 
blessed gospel of Christ. 

Silence seems to reign as they sit at the 
table. Apparently there is nothing in common 
between the host and the guest. The social 
feature of the dining is at its minimum. The 
frigid stiffness of the Pharisee has knotted his 



THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 51 

throat and paralyzed his tongue. But as the 
meal progresses the situation is unexpectedly 
relieved. A strange female figure appears in 
the dining hall and stealthily approaches 
Christ from behind. She is bent low, and her 
long hair, disheveled, partly veils her face, and 
in her hand she carries a small box. Unex- 
pectedly, as it may seem, did she appear — a 
sinful woman, evidently a noted character in 
the community, as we would gather from the 
unuttered criticisms of the Pharisee. Was she 
known to him as a sinful character, or did her 
dress and manner betray her? At any rate 
the Pharisee did not misjudge her, but he pro- 
nounced premature and summary judgment on 
Christ for permitting her to touch him, and es- 
pecially to minister to him in the peculiar man- 
ner described in the narrative. 

The woman is evidently in great mental dis- 
tress. Her weeping is very profuse, so that she 
washed his feet with her tears — the feet that 
had been neglected by the proud and unkind 
host are washed with the tears of the weeping 
woman. The inexcusable neglect of the Phari- 



52 THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 

see gave the occasion for the remarkable ser- 
vice rendered by her. That which he omitted 
or even disdained, has immortalized this wo- 
man. 

Look at the climactic value of the things used 
by the woman in washing the feet of Christ. 
Nothing could be added to make her act of the 
highest arid noblest character. The tears — 
what express the true sentiment of the heart so 
forcibly and so elegantly as genuine tears, 
tears that flow from the heart as did these? 
Real sorrow, real joy and real sympathy flow in 
tears when words are too feeble to utter or 
express the heart's fulness. Tears are spoken 
of as being so precious that they are bottled 
by the indulgent heavenly Father. But here 
this woman uses them for the lowest and most 
humble menial service, to wash the feet of 
Jesus — the hair, the pride and beauty of 
woman, is used for a towel with which to dry 
and cleanse the moistened feet. Then the kiss. 
The use of the tears and the hair was not 
enough to express the throbbing affection of 
the woman's heart — the use of these might 



THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 53 

be looked upon as a matter of necessity. But 
the kiss for the feet, not once only, but re- 
peatedly as she is washing and anointing 
them, is the expression of supreme feeling. 

See how this woman surmounts difficulties 
in accomplishing her purpose. The whole 
situation was decidedly embarrassing to her. 
It may have seemed hardly proper for her 
to come in as she did, uninvited to render this 
unique service to a stranger. Is it possible 
that she was lingering near when Christ came 
to the house and noticed that he had received 
no attention from the Pharisee, and this neg- 
lect on his part suggested her course of ac- 
tion, and afforded an opportunity to express 
her love as contrasted with the frigidity of 
the host? She desired to wash Christ's feet 
but there was no water available nor any other 
of the necessary things thereto. But this dif- 
ficulty only opens the way for a better mani- 
festation of greater love. If she indeed de- 
sired to thus honor Christ, if she was gen- 
uinely sincere and humble in her purpose, the 
lack of water and towel will not stand long 



54 THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 

in her way. Her tears and her hair shall 
serve a new purpose, not only in the foot- 
bath, but also to show that nothing is too 
sacred for the Master's use. The ointment 
she has purchased is not worthy to be poured 
on his head, nor would she presume to per- 
form so honorable a work, but unseemly as it 
may appear, the ointment is applied to the 
feet, nor were her lips worthy to touch him, 
save upon his feet. Who had ever thought of 
expressing his love in such a manner as this? 
Only a woman — and shall we say only a 
woman impressed with the deepest sense of 
sin could do what this woman did! The feet 
of the blessed Son of God bear not only the 
prints of the nails that held him to ihe cross 
— the mark of cruel hatred — but they bear also 
the print of the lips of this sinful woman — 
the mark of all-sacrificing love — the imprint 
of kisses that cannot be erased. Christ will 
bear forever the marks of cruelty and of love. 
His feet, his hands, his side and his thorn- 
scarred brow tell his love for us; the marks of 
the kiss on his feet tell the love of a conscious 



THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 55 

sinner for Christ. Perhaps no kiss ever meant 
just what and just as much as did this one. 
There are many kinds of kisses with as many 
meanings. 

There is first, the kiss of lovers, an effu- 
sion of emotion that can be expressed in no 
other manner so well. When the whole heart 
goes out through the lips, and the electric 
touch tingles every nerve, and the two souls 
are welded into one by the power of that 
unique relation between two beings of dif- 
ferent sexes. This kiss is something that may 
be affected but never counterfeited. This was 
the first kiss ever bestowed when the man in 
his primeval purity first met his counterpart 
in the original paradise and recognized her 
as his God-provided bride, adorned in her celes- 
tial bridal robe deftly woven by angel fingers. 
There the lovers' kiss was the seal of the mar- 
riage, where God himself officiated, and an- 
gels were the witnesses. 

There is the kiss of family affection, where 
souls of kindred blood bound by natural and 
inseparable ties express their love by the oft 



56 THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 

repeated kiss. There is here not the electric 
spark of the lover, but the fervent beat of lov- 
ing kindred hearts. Is not this the lovers' kiss 
matured through wedded and parental affec- 
tion into its strongest and holiest possibilities 
in the family? The lovers' kiss is the expres- 
sion of a new-born affection in the soul. The 
kiss of family affection is the expression of an 
inborn characteristic of the soul. The lovers' 
kiss is the first blooming of an emotion, the 
family kiss is the perennial fruit of the union 
of kindred souls. 

There is, next, the kiss of friendship. A pe- 
culiar privilege claimed by certain individuals 
who are in an inner circle of friends. This is 
considered a mark of special friendship, re- 
gardless of any relationship, and it is indulged 
in almost exclusively by the female sex. Cus- 
tom has doubtless fixed this law. That it is 
always the index of true friendship, we would 
not presume to say. 

Closely related to the above, is the kiss of 
formality. Neither love nor friendship is 
meant by this species of lip service; it may ? 



THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 57 

however, be a degenerate form of friendship. 
Of this sort was that practiced so much in 
olden times and referred to by Christ in speak- 
ing to the Pharisee. It was a formal custom 
for guests to be welcomed with a kiss, es- 
pecially when the guest was a person of dis- 
tinction. This had been neglected upon this 
occasion. 

Another kiss, and of special significance is 
the kiss of forgiveness. This is exemplified 
most notably in the case of the returning 
prodigal. This kiss differs from those already 
described. In those the desire and advance is 
mutual — love meets love, friend meets friend, 
equal meets equal. But in this the advance is 
made by the offended party; it is all an act 
of pure grace, and it is entirely unexpected by 
the offender. This kiss is the seal of absolute, 
unconditional forgiveness. It is an unmerited 
and unexpected favor bestowed, where the op- 
posite was deserved and expected. It kisses 
away the bitter tear of sorrow and regret. It 
reunites severed hearts, welds the broken link, 
and restores love and confidence 



58 THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 

There is also the kiss of betrayal and deceit. 
It has the external semblance of love and 
friendship, but it is the very climax of hy- 
pocrisy and hate. The lips that bestow this 
kiss may be as delicate as the rose and as soft 
as oil, while the heart is as cruel as death. 
By this kiss the incarnate devil, Judas, desig- 
nated Christ to the hellish mob that went out 
to arrest him. It was the last recorded act of 
the traitor until he remorsefully flung back 
the purchase money of the blood of the Son 
of God, and went out and made a desperate 
plunge into perdition. His last words, "I have 
betrayed innocent blood'' — the betraying kiss 
that gave his Master over to his enemies, re- 
acted with such vehement force that it hurled 
his wretched soul into hell. How many are 
betra}'ed by this kiss! The young and fair are 
marked for the destroyer by a deceitful and 
betraying kiss. Let all who kiss with deceitful 
lips remember that it was by this seal that 
Judas marked Christ for the crucifixion. 

But, once more, there is the kiss of true love. 
This is not identical with the kiss of lovers 9 



THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 59 

nor even of the same species, where lips meet 
lips in isothermal affection and emotion. But 
the kiss of true love is of a higher and purer 
sort than is born of any earthly relation or 
human tie. It is purely unselfish, and bestows 
its kiss rather upon the feet of the object of 
its affection. It is not the expression so much 
of affection nor emotion, but rather an over- 
flow in the soul of that which Christ makes the 
sum total of the ten commandments; pure love, 
of which God is the source, and Christ its 
sublimest manifestation. This love seeks and 
delights to. honor Christ in any proper form by 
which it can make itself known. The martyr 
in the flames, the preacher in the pulpit, the 
servant ministering a cup of cold water, and 
this sinful woman kissing the Savior's feet, 
may all be moved by the same impulse. But 
nowhere does a kiss express more, or even as 
much, as in this case. Nowhere is there a more 
beautiful and humble expression of gratitude. 
The kiss was the climactic act in this re- 
markable and unique performance. All was 
done with the utmost tenderness. Imagine with 



60 THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 

what care this woman rendered this service. 
But the gentle touch of the hand, the bath with 
the fast flowing tears, and the wiping with the 
soft, silken hair were not enough. These acts 
were not a sufficient preparation for the 
anointing, nor a satisfactory expression of the 
secret of the woman's heart. There is no other 
way by which she may express her humility 
and love — only by this most expressive of all 
signs — a woman's true kiss. So she kissed his 
feet, not once only, but, as Christ indicates, 
repeatedly. What a trinity here of expression, 
of heart-overflow on the part of this woman— 
her tears, her hair, and her kisses imprinted up- 
on the feet. What are these to a woman? 
Are they not the effusion of her heart, the 
beauty and pride of her person, and the sweet- 
est and strongest love of her soul, all unspar- 
ingly lavished upon the feet of the Christ? 
There is not in all human history a more 
beautiful and significant picture than this wo- 
man at the feet of Jesus. 

But the woman seems to have done all with 
the utmost indifference as to the surroundings. 



THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. Gl 

She had only one thought. The occasion was 
her opportunity — the supreme moment had 
come. Nor did she hasten nervously and care- 
lessly through her service of love. She seemed 
to revel in it as the sweetest morsel of ex- i 
perience in her hitherto bitter life-work. It 
must, however, have been a great trial, to say 
nothing of the apparent impropriety of the 
transaction. The whole performance was close- 
ly watched with critic-squinted eye by the 
Pharisee, and from his thoughts we would 
conclude that he knew the woman's character. 
But his one thought was not to criticise the 
woman and her conduct, however much he may 
have disliked it, but to find fault with Christ. 
So he at once jumped to the conclusion that 
Christ was not a prophet, for if he were he 
could read the character of the woman, and, 
knowing her character, would not allow her to 
do this. What a common weakness the Phari- 
see here betrays. His one purpose was to 
find fault with Christ simply because he hated 
him. The Pharisee no doubt belonged to a 
clan who were usincr all measures fair and un- 



C2 THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 

fair to find some accusation against Christ. 
Nothing is so easy as to find fault when we 
hunt for it. How much of the objection and 
fault against Christians and the church has 
its origin not in facts, but in unwillingness to 
obey and serve Christ. 

But while the Pharisee in his heart was con- 
demning Christ, he was not aware that his own 
thoughts were in full view of his hated guest. 
Christ does not condemn the Pharisee, nor say 
anything to indicate the sinfulness of the wo- 
man, but in his own inimitable manner he 
leads the Pharisee to see his own faults and 
even to condemn himself, and in a measure 
justify the woman's conduct. The short para- 
ble of the two debtors presented to the Phari- 
see leads him to pronounce judgment. Then 
Christ makes the personal application in a kind 
and yet very pungent manner, so the Pharisee 
is compelled to see the justice of the applica- 
tion. Pointing to the woman, he says to the 
Pharisee: "I came to your house at your own 
bidding, but you gave me no water for my 
feet, no welcome kiss and no oil for my head — 



THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 03 

the reception was exceedingly cold and indif- 
ferent. But this sinful woman whom you con- 
demn and of whom positively nothing could be 
expected, has discharged all these duties and 
courtesies in a most remarkable manner; in 
such a way as to put you and all others to 
shame. She has washed my feet with tears, 
she has wiped them with the hair of her head, 
she has repeatedly kissed my feet, and anointed 
them with ointment. She has esteemed it the 
greatest privilege and honor to do to my feet 
what you should have done to my head. She 
delights to do me the lowest menial service 
in the most loving and even most expensive 
manner, but you disdain showing me the com- 
mon courtesy of a guest. The secret of it all 
is, she loves me, you do not love me." The 
woman was, no doubt, the greater sinner, but 
she has also become the greater lover of Christ, 
not because of her sin, but because of the 
abundance of her forgiveness, of which the 
Pharisee knew nothing. Christ gently pro- 
nounces the words of absolution and dismisses 
the woman. The question was not how great a 



64 THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 

sinner she had been. But here is proof posi- 
tive of her love for Christ, and of a true sense 
of her own unworthiness. Hers was a case of 
genuine repentance and true love. What a 
contrast between these two characters, in their 
social standing, in their worldly circumstances 
and in their estimation of self, but especially in 
their estimation of Christ, and in the words 
addressed to them by him. The first has truly 
become last, and the last, first. To the one, 
Christ says: "'You have not done this, you 
have not done that." Of the other he says: 
"She has done this, and in a manner most re- 
markable.-' To her there is the benediction of 
pardon and peace, the reward of her faith and 
loving service. While the self-righteous Phari- 
see is left to think of his ingratitude and hate, 
and is severely self-condemned. 

This woman is left nameless. Doubtless she 
would have it so. But while she is nameless 
here forever, she is immortalized by her noble 
service of love rendered to Christ. Such a work 
cannot be mortal. Who in heaven will not 
want to see the blessed feet of Jesus so lovingly 



THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 65 

kissed by this woman, and will not want to see 
this immortalized woman whose lips tenderly 
touched the feet of the incarnate Son of God? 
Devout pilgrims are literally kissing away a 
large stone — a huge boulder — on which, as tra- 
dition says, Jesus once leaned to rest while on 
a weary journey. Others still more devout and 
enthusiastic, consider it a special favor to be 
allowed to kiss the great toe of the statue of 
St. Peter in Rome. But only one is recorded as 
having devoutly and lovingly kissed the feet of 
Christ himself. 

What an appreciation here on the part of 
Christ of true service rendered. It matters 
not by whom it is done, nor where, nor how, 
nor when. What a blessed thing that Christ 
is not a respecter of persons, but all may serve 
and be accepted and blessed. But sometimes 
there is a special work we may do — often some- 
thing that has been refused or neglected by 
some one else, as in the case of the Pharisee. 
Strong desire moved by ardent love has great 
inventive powers to do something for the one 

loved. All may do something to prove their 
5 



66 THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 

love, but all cannot do the same thing. Who 
but a woman could have rendered the service 
of this nameless immortal — could have done it 
just as she did? The tears and the hair and the 
kisses, and even the anointing oil are all pe- 
culiar to her sex. A man could hardly have 
thought of such a thing. And it may even be 
questioned whether the whole performance 
was physically very agreeable to Christ. 

And who but a sinful woman — very sinful — 
could have done this as she did it? Such love 
and humility as she manifested was, according 
to Christ's own explanation, the result of great 
forgiveness — a true appreciation of a great 
curse of sin removed. What but a keen sense 
of awful sin, and most ardent love for a 
pardoning Savior could have driven her to such 
service under the very eye of the hateful, criti- 
cising Pharisee? 

One other thing we must notice before we 
turn from this exceedingly interesting scene. 
The woman through it all was perfectly silent, 
not a word is recorded from her lips. There is 
no confession of sin in actual words. Her 



THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 07 

actions expressed more than her words could 
have done. And there is no profession of con- 
fidence and faith in Christ, there is no prayer 
for pardon, and there is no verbal avowal of 
love for him. But her actions are more elo- 
quent than human tongue. The flow of the 
tears and the touch of the lips upon the soiled 
feet expressed the true state of the soul in 
the utmost degree. How much there is often 
in voiceless worship and devotion to Christ. 
The strongest faith and the sweetest love are 
not expressed by words. With what peace, 
with what a thrill of joy, this new-made, re- 
deemed woman went out from the presence of 
Christ. She passes out and is heard of here no 
more, and her name will never be known until 
it is read from the Lamb's Book of Life. 



68 THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 



CHAPTER III. 

THE MAGIC TOUCH OF FAITH. 

" She only touched the hem of his garment, 
As to his side she stole, 
Amid the crowd that gathered around him, 
And straightway she was whole. 

,: She came in fear and trembling before him, 
She knew her Lord had come; 
She felt that from him virtue had healed her, 
The mighty deed was done." 

— G. F. Root. 

We are in the midst of a group of most in- 
teresting and instructive miracles. A cluster 
than which there is none more important in 
the life work of Christ. After a busy day's 
work in Capernaum, Christ gave orders to 
enter the boats and cross the little sea of 
Galilee. They are soon all aboard and under 
full sail for the eastern shore of the lake. 
The evening is pleasant and balmy, scarcely a 
zephyr fans their brows or causes a tiny ripple 
on the glassy waters. 



THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 69 

In a little while they are free from noise of 
the busy coast, and Christ,being weary with his 
day's toil, finding a quiet nook in the stern of 
the boat, is soon fast asleep. The dis- 
ciples, anxious to give their Master a quiet rest, 
gently steered the boat towards their destina- 
tion. But, as is frequently the case on that 
little sea, especially in that season of the year, 
there is a sudden change in the weather. The 
sky is suddenly overcast with storm clouds. 
The gentle zephyr has grown to monstrous, 
raging winds, and the waves like billows roll 
and begin to splash and pour over the deck of 
the little vessel. Still Christ calmly sleeps, 
unconscious of the threatening danger. The 
shipmen strive hard to reach the shore, but the 
harder they strive the more violent and dan- 
gerous the storm becomes, until they find them- 
selves overpowered and at their wits' end. They 
become alarmed at the situation and arouse 
Christ, and in almost chilling language ask him 
of his care for them. 

With a word of gentle reproof for their lack 
of faith, he rises and rebukes the wind, and all 



70 THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 

is immediately quiet. The great Lord of nature 
simply speaks to the raging elements and they 
are subdued. The disciples have gained a new 
idea of their Master. "What manner of man is 
this," say they, "that the winds and the seas 
obey him?" They had seen many miracles 
wrought by him, but none just like this. He 
never before appeared so much in the attitude 
of a mighty Creator. He is not only Lord 
supreme over men and human disease, but over 
winds and waves as well. 

They pass on and soon land on the other 
side, the country of the Gadarenes, for the 
most part a wild, rocky country. The purpose 
of this trip soon appears. No sooner had they 
landed than a remarkable personage ap- 
proaches him. A man out of the tombs, naked, 
wild and desperately fierce. He was absolutely 
beyond all human control. On his arms were 
remnants of chains and fetters with which he 
had been bound in vain. All attempts to tame 
him were utterly futile. Possessed with super- 
human strength and devoid of all reason, he 
had long been given over to his wild career. 



THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 71 

His home was among the tombs and in the 
wild mountains round about. His horrid, self- 
inflicted punishments — cutting himself with 
rough stones; his hideous appearance and his 
wild, weird cries of despair, made him the ter- 
ror of the whole community. He was a de- 
moniac of the very worst form, defying every 
effort to subdue him. He was not the victim 
of only one demon, but a whole legion were 
huddled in his benighted soul. The torments 
of this man, both physical and mental, were 
of the utmost degree. His was a case of long 
standing, and he was so desperately wretched 
that it seemed to have been a relief for him 
to inflict upon himself the most ghastly suffer- 
ings and wounds. His was a veritable hell. 
He was absolutely in the hands of the tor- 
mentors, whose hellish delight was in driving 
their victim to the worst forms of suffering. 
What an illustration this of what a man must 
be when given over to the power of the devil, 
either in this world or in the world to come. 
It is interesting to see what will take place 
when this man, who is nothing but a nest of 



r i2 THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 

demons, and Christ come together. We would 
naturally think that the power and authority 
— the divinity — of Christ would be severely put 
to the test. There was here a concentration 
of demoniacal powers, but the result is re- 
markable. 

As soon as Christ is fairly landed this de- 
monized man approaches him, not for combat 
nor defiance, but to worship and to acknowl- 
edge him to be the Son of the most high God. 
He begs for mercy; not the man, but the in- 
dwelling demons are the spokesmen. What a 
testimony here to the divinity of Christ. This 
witness completes the circle. From above God 
speaks with audible voice and says: "This is 
my beloved Son." The visible form of the 
Holy Spirit descends upon him at his baptism 
as a witness. Holy angels repeatedly minister 
to him as the Son of God. Then, both his 
friends and his enemies, testify that he is the 
Son of God. Here demons from the nether 
world declare that they know him to be the 
Son of the most high God. The infidel alone 
stands in opposition to all these witnesses. 



THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 73 

Alone he stands and in the face of heaven and 
earth and hell, yea, in the face of the intelli- 
gent beings of the universe, denies the divinity 
of Christ — gloomy and peculiar, but not 
grand. 

What a confession of guilt on the part of the 
demons. What a begging, not for mercy, of 
which there is none for them, but only for 
leniency. Had these demons escaped from their 
place of torment and found a temporary hiding 
place in the person of this wretched man? Had 
they here found a semi-surcease, and were 
begging not to be returned to their own place? 
Their request was at least in part granted, and 
they were allowed to go into the swine. But 
from the disaster that followed, it is quite 
reasonable that the demons were defeated in 
their own game and hurled themselves into 
perdition, as did their prince and father, Judas, 
when he went out and hanged himself. The 
man was completely restored, clothed and in 
his right mind. 

What a multitude of interesting and import- 
ant questions come up in connection with this 



74 THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 

remarkable case — questions which we cannot 
here consider. The whole question of demon- 
ology — of demoniacal possession — of psycho- 
physics, of polidemoniacs, demonized swine, 
and such like. 

But we must follow the Savior as he imme- 
diately recrosses the sea of Galilee and meets 
another one of the nameless monuments of his 
work. He had no sooner recrossed than he 
was approached by one Jairus, who besought 
him to come immediately to his house for his 
daughter was at the point of death. While he 
is on his journey thither he is surrounded and 
pressed by a throng of people, eager to see all 
that he might do. 

But in this vast, jostling crowd there is one 
character of special interest — an afflicted wo- 
man. She had, no doubt, dropped into the 
crowd at some point along the road, and was 
eagerly, yet very quietly, pressing her way 
through to the central figure, Christ. She de- 
sired to pass unnoticed by the throng, and even 
by Christ himself. Just like many who act as 
if they were really and sincerely desiring to be 



THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 75 

saved — to be Christians — without either the 
world or Christ knowing it. Will they never 
learn that such a thing is impossible? Her ease 
was a remarkable one. It was chronic, and, to 
all human skill, incurable. She had used all 
the means at her command to effect a cure; 
had sought the skill of the best physicians 
within her reach, and she had spent all her 
means — but to no purpose, only to make her 
worse. 

What an illustration this of the utter ina- 
bility of all human skill and wisdom to heal 
the sin-diseased soul. Yet how many will seek 
only human aid and perish ! St. Augustine tells 
us that he sought through the whole realm of 
human knowledge, trying to satisfy the long- 
ings of his soul, but only to be disappointed and 
to learn the inadequacy of human knowledge. 
He found no peace until he came to the feet of 
Christ. The wretchedness of this woman's dis- 
ease and her continual sufferings can be esti- 
mated only by her continued perseverance and 
experience in trying to be cured. How the 
afflicted will grasp at every straw and use 



76 THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 

every means that may possibly bring relief. 
And how medicine makers and venders take 
advantage of afflicted humanity by thrusting 
upon them every imaginable cure-all that the 
ingenuity of man can invent. And how often 
unscrupulous physicians will take the last dol- 
lar from the afflicted when they well know 
that they can effect nothing by their treat- 
ment, and return absolutely nothing for value 
received. 

For twelve years this woman had been grap- 
pling with a loathsome disease and a hoard of 
doctors only to grow worse. Without money 
and hopeless, she hears of the wonderful cures 
wrought by Christ, and, presumably, she had 
seen some one who had been healed by him 
and had learned the secret of obtaining the 
blessing. From the record it is certainly clear 
that she knew what was required to be healed. 
It was all reduced to one thought in her mind : 
"If I ma; but touch the hem of his garment.'' 
Several things are beautifully illustrated by 
this woman's actions. 

1. Simple faith. What a clear conception 



THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 77 

she had of this. Is it not probable that she had 
been instructed by some one interested in her 
case? Her faith was peculiar in its nature, no 
less than in its purity and simplicity. There 
was to be no asking for the blessing, no ex- 
plaining of the disease and the difficulties 
under which she had so long labored. But her 
faith embraced all this — that Christ knew the 
nature of the disease, and the difficulties con- 
nected therewith. Whether all these things 
were in the mind of the woman or not, we are 
not able to say. It is, however, clear that her 
faith covered all this, and there were no dif- 
ficulties in her mind. Faith removed them. 

2. The touch. If she could only touch, not 
his person, nor his garment, but only the most 
distant part of his outer clothing, the hem of 
his garment. Her idea was that the least pos- 
sible was sufficient to accomplish the work — 
only the touch of the hem of his garment — 
mark the three little words — only — touch — 
hem. They are all minimum words, showing 
the least possible external action. Faith was 
at its maximum and works at its minimum. 



78 THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 

What a touch that must have been! Can any 
one conceive what must ha^e been the ex- 
perience of this woman when she had pressed 
her way through the crowd and had gotten 
within reach of the hem and put forth her 
finger to give the saving touch? What a sub- 
lime faith there was in that stretch of the 
hand — in that touch of the finger. There was 
the life-giving connection between the suffer- 
ing body and the healing Savior. But this 
touch was peculiar in its nature. When Christ 
said: "Who touched me?" the answer was, 
that a crowd was pressing him on every side 
and many were touching him, and why should 
he ask such a question. But this touch was 
unlike all others. It was the faith in the touch 
that made all this difference. 

Is it not precisely so still? Crowds go to the 
house of God, where God meets with his people. 
They all hear his words, they see his miracles 
in the word, and the miracles of saving grace. 
How the crowds will rush where there is a re- 
vival of religion, where men are healed. There 
the crowds are close to Christ; yea, they touch 



THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 79 

him on every side, but are not healed. It is 
not the touch of faith. Only a few press to him 
with the outstretched hand of faith seeking to 
be healed by touching him. 

3. There was the personality — the egoistic 
idea. I must touch — if I but touch. No one 
could do this for her. Her hand must stretch 
forth to touch. Herself and Christ only. No 
one can believe for us. No one can touch the 
hem and we be healed. No one can go to 
church for us. No one can offer our prayers. 
This is a personal matter between each soul 
and Christ alone. The egoistic idea is all im- 
portant in religion. How this woman had all 
these things reduced to a fine point. She had 
precisely the correct idea, and firmly acted it 
out, and the result was a perfect cure. The 
idea, the action, the cure as result. Many have 
correct ideas of salvation. They know just 
what is needed and what is to be done, and 
how to do it, but never carry their knowledge 
into action. Their ideas are correct, but ideas 
alone will not save. The action — the touch — 
is absolutely essential. 



80 THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 

4. The difficulties in the way. Her language 
implies difficulties as well as faith and assur- 
ance. How long she pressed on through the 
crowd we may not even surmise. But we can 
easily see that it required no small degree of 
determination and effort to accomplish her 
purpose. Her physical condition made it dif- 
ficult and positively embarrassing for her to 
press through the jostling crowd, and literally 
force her way to Christ. Then the language 
implies, also, that she was exceedingly timid, 
and tried if possible to accomplish her pur- 
pose and retire unobserved. This natural 
timidity was no small difficulty in her way. 
But how bravely, yet how humbly, she over- 
comes these things, and presses through the 
moving mass of people to reach the object of 
her quest. How many, alas, are not as brave- 
as this poor woman in coming to Christ. We 
see strong men who have not courage to con- 
fess Christ in a company of friends, when 
every difficulty is removed, and every induce- 
ment held out. How many excuse themselves 
from active service for Christ on account of 



THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 81 

natural timidity — a very easy way to throw off 
responsibilities and duties. Is any one more 
timid than this poor, afflicted woman? Ye 
cowardly men and women look at this very 
striking picture. This woman eagerly dodg- 
ing through the crowd with outstretched arm 
to reach as soon as possible the goal. Study 
that earnest face, that eye almost without a 
wink, count the beats of that anxious heart, 
and will it not arouse courage or bring the 
blush of shame to cheek of some in our 
churches? How this woman stands — name- 
less though she be — as a heroine of faith and 
courage! What an example! Just as she went 
to Christ, so must all go. Just as she obtained 
the desired blessing, so will every one who 
touches as she did. 

5. What must have been this woman's joy 
when she felt the divine, healing power acting 
in her body. She was immediately healed, and 
see the result of the healing power! The sud- 
den change from a long, lingering, painful 
affliction to an instantaneous cure must have 

been a most wonderful and delightful ex- 
6 



82 THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 

perience. What must have been her joy at the 
moment when she felt this divine effect! How 
like this is the experience of the soul that is 
thrilled with the joy of the new birth? How 
much Christ spoke of the joy of the believer. 
David says: "Restore unto me the joys of thy 
salvation." Paul says: "Rejoice evermore, and 
again I say rejoice;" even in affliction he 
would rejoice. How much of joy there is in 
salvation. Let us not confound joy with hap- 
piness. Happiness is the result of things that 
happen in our lives and environments, and is 
common to all, both Christians and non- 
Christians. Happiness is transient and change- 
able, and depends largely upon circumstances. 
Christians may be happy or unhappy, and so 
may also non-Christians. The term happy is 
very close akin to lucky. But joyfulness is 
purely and exclusively a religious experience. 
Joy is one of those peculiar and exclusive 
words which has a meaning of its own, like 
Christian faith and hope and love. Joy is the 
result alone of a conscious salvation. In the 
greatest possible sufferings and in the most 



THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 83 

unhappy conditions in life, the soul may still 
be supremely joyful; often the face of the 
afflicted saint beams with joy almost like that 
of Stephen when the divine Shekinah was re- 
flected from his heaven-turned face. Joy in the 
afflictions and trials of life is one of the posi- 
tive evidences of a heart united to Christ. We 
are repeatedly exhorted to seek this joy and to 
let it fill our hearts continually. This can be 
our experience only when we are in constant 
living union with Christ. It is the Christian's 
privilege to live joyously every day. And how 
much of life's needless sorrow and worry is 
escaped in this way. Let the soul be filled with 
joy and there will be no room for many of the 
annoyances of life. 

6. Is it not a little strange that Christ did 
not know of this woman until she had drawn 
upon his divine bounty? Does this teach us 
that true faith draws blessings from God even 
before the case is made known to God on our 
part? It certainly demonstrates to us that the 
faithless touch is practically no touch at all. 
Our contact with Christ — our prayer, our 



84 THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 

touch — is useless unless there be the proper 
mental and spiritual condition on the part of 
the toucher. Is not here the explanation of 
much of the silence on the part of God regard- 
ing the so-called prayers of his people? He 
never notices our touch because it is only 
external, and not of the heart. But the mo- 
ment the woman touched him he knew it, not 
only omnisciently, but virtually. Like met like, 
will coincided with will. The proper conditions 
were fulfilled to make this touch a matter of 
experience to both parties. 

7. What was the mysterious virtue that went 
out from Christ in response to and through the 
touch of this woman? It was a matter of in- 
stant perception on the part of Christ, and of 
instantaneous healing on the part of the wo- 
man. There was the subjective and objective, 
the positive and the negative, the active and the 
passive, the healer and the healed. But there 
are some curious facts concerning this virtue — 
this healing power that passed from Christ in- 
to the woman. 

First, it was in Christ ready to act under 



THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 85 

certain conditions apparently without the exer- 
cise of the will of Christ, and without his 
knowledge until it was actually done. Christ 
did not by the exercise of his will send this 
healing power into the woman, for he knew 
nothing of her until she was already healed. It 
would appear then that this virtue or power is 
in Christ ready for immediate action and use 
whenever the proper conditions are fulfilled 
by the one seeking it. 

Second, this virtue seems to be all-healing, 
omnipotent in its nature. No difference what 
the nature of the disease, it is the same for all. 
Had the woman's affliction been anything else, 
the result would have been precisely the same 
— she would have been healed. 

Third, there was the actual imparting of a 
something, a virtue, a power, that healed. 
There was an adequate cause that produced! 
the effect. Is not this true in all the operations 
of God? Does not this lie at the foundation of 
creation and providence and what we term 
natural laws, and of redemption as well? There 
is always the adequate cause, a sufficient 



86 THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 

force, whatever may be the medium through 
which this force operates. 

Fourth, but there was not only the power or 
virtue, and the medium, but also the proper 
state or condition on the part of the woman. 
This condition was faith on her part. Until 
there was this faith there could not be the 
transmission of the healing virtue or force. 
Without faith she could not be the recipient 
of the healing power. Hence faith is not a 
blind nonentity, but it is a soul-state, without 
which certain effects upon the person cannot 
be produced by the divine virtue or agency. 
This faith seems always to be the condition 
necessary to the reception of the divine power, 
whenever the recipient is a rational free agent. 
And, strange as it may appear, faith is also 
the condition of blessings upon third parties, 
especially when the third party is not in a 
proper condition to exercise this faith in his 
own behalf. So the sick were healed and souls 
saved through the faith of third parties. Faith 
is that which makes it possible for the given 
cause to produce the desired effect. Faith is 



THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 87 

that state of the soul that makes it possible 
for the divine force to do its work. When we 
speak of faith being a condition, we mean a 
moral state, not a mere stipulation or article of 
agreement by which something shall be done. 
The latter would mean that I will be saved 
because I believe certain things about Christ 
as the Son of God. The other means that I 
will be saved because of a definite moral con- 
dition of my soul which brings me into certain 
relations with God and makes me the recipient 
of his divine saving energy in my soul. The 
one is a mere mental act. The other is a moral 
or spiritual state or condition. 

Fifth, this places the divine blessing— ac- 
cording to this woman's case — not only within 
reach of the believer, but absolutely at his 
command. This woman obtained this healing 
virtue by her touch, her soul being in the 
proper state to receive the blessing, or power. 
This was the difference between the touch of 
this woman and the touch of others in the 
crowd. There was nothing in the actual touch 
as such, but was in the state of the soul that 



88 THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 

put forth that touch. I hold in my hand two 
jueces of metal precisely alike — they are both 
iron. I touch one to a block of iron but there 
is no effect. There is no affinity between the 
two. I touch the other in precisely the same 
way and at the same place, and it adheres 
closely to the block of iron. The difference is 
in the two pieces of iron, not in the block. One 
of the pieces is magnetized, the other is not. 
The magnetic condition is different. The con- 
dition of the iron block was precisely the same 
for both pieces of iron. There was precisely 
the same virtue, power, cause in Christ when 
others touched him, but there was not the state 
of soul in the touchers to draw forth that virtue. 
But when the finger of the woman touched him 
the virtue instantly flowed out into her, just as 
the electric current flows along the wire, when 
the proper connections are established and 
the proper conditions exist. In fact, so far as 
we can see, nothing could prevent the going 
out of this virtue when the conditions are 
fulfilled. Is it not so with God's blessings for 
all of us, as it was in this case? 



THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 89 

Sixth, where this faith, soul-state, has its 
origin, is entirely another question. Whatever 
be its origin, it alone is that condition of soul 
in which (not on which) the divine virtue is 
obtainable. It is also certain that the will and 
purpose of the recipient must be in harmony 
with the will and purpose of Christ — the be- 
stower of the healing virtue. Indeed, the will 
and purpose are essential elements of true 
faith. This nameless woman in her humility is 
the unique illustration of this conception of 
faith. Her condition, all the circumstances 
and the immediate result make the illustration 
complete, and make her the perfect model. 



90 THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 

CHAPTER IV. 

THE FOREIGNERS CONQUEST. 

" Thy way, not mine, Lord, 
However dark it be! 
Lead me by thine own hand, 

Choose out the path for me. 
Not mine, not mine the choice, 

In things or great or small; 
Be thou my guide, my strength, 
My wisdom and my all." 

—Prom the German, by H. Bonar. 

From the busy scenes of Jerusalem Christ 
suddenly takes his departure, and this time, 
contrary to his custom, he goes beyond the 
hounds of his circuit into the regions of Tyre 
and Sidon. This digression is doubtless made 
for some special purpose. And as he went be- 
yond his ordinary circuit, may it not be pro- 
phetic of a work that is out of his ordinary 



me 



Tyre was at this time a large and powerful 
city, second to Jerusalem only, and being on 



THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 91 

the seaeoast, it was in some respects even more 
important than the Holy City. A thousand 
years before the birth of Christ, Tyre rivaled 
Jerusalem. While Solomon reigned, and his 
kingdom was in its palmiest days, Hiram was 
king of Tyre and the special friend of Solomon. 
It was Hiram that brought the cedar timbers 
from Lebanon to Solomon for the building of 
the temple in Jerusalem. More than three 
hundred years before, Alexander the Great con- 
quered Tyre. Even a thousand years before 
the Alexandrian conquest, Tyre was an im- 
portant cit} r , and when Abraham tented at 
Mamre and sojourned in Egypt, and Sodom 
and Gomorrah were flourishing, Tyre was a 
thriving town, sending her trading vessels to 
many points on the Mediterranean, and, pos- 
sibly, as far as Spain. At the time of Solo- 
mon and onward, Tyre was the port through 
which foreign trade was conducted. The terri- 
tory governed by Tyre and Sidon was not large 
but was at times quite important. 

On this journey Christ went into the coasts 
of Tyre and Sidon, presumably not into the 



02 THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 

city of Tyre, but simply into the country under 
their jurisdiction. It is not known that Christ 
was ever in these regions before, but the record 
would imply that they had at least heard of his 
fame. He was, however, careful not to make 
himself known. But he was not entirely con- 
cealed, as appears from what transpired while 
there. It is a comforting thought that re- 
deeming grace is not confined to a single nation 
or race of people. But in the last grand total 
of the redeemed there appears an innumerable 
multitude from every nation and tongue and 
people who have washed their robes and made 
them white in the blood of the Lamb, and all 
join the great chorus in singing the songs of 
redeeming love. 

And not all of the nameless immortals are 
descendants of Abraham, but some are Gen- 
tiles, demonstrating the fact that even these 
special blessings are not reserved for a chosen 
race, but may be won by all. Divine grace 
can do the same for all mankind, and faith 
wins the diadem of victory from the hand of 
Christ, whether the believer be in the line of 



THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 93 

promise or of the most remote heathen. Christ 
in his blood relationship and in his work of re- 
demption, is intimately connected with the 
Gentile world. Nothing is more interesting 
than to study the points where he came in con- j 
tact with the Gentile world. Occasionally a 
stranger would press in and carry away a 
prize, putting to shame the specially chosen 
and privileged people. And while Christ con- 
fessedly came to seek the lost sheep of the 
House of Israel, he never refused to confer even 
the choicest blessings upon the Gentiles when- 
ever the conditions were fulfilled. His own 
definition of his mission is "to seek and to save 
sinners" — not Jews nor Gentiles as such, but 
sinners of all nations. 

Of all the Gentiles with whom Christ comes 
in contact during his ministry none is more 
interesting than the woman who came to him 
as he was passing through the coasts of Tyre 
and Sidon. There is not recorded in all the 
inspired record a struggle more desperate and 
a victory more brilliant than this famous one. 
Even the all-night wrestling of Jacob with the 



94 THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 

angel, and the determined "I will not let thee 
go," does not surpass this magnificent struggle. 
Nor is the victorious title, "Israel," conferred 
upon the prevailing Jacob more significant 
than the remarkable exclamation of the con- 
quered Christ when he said, ' k Oh, woman, great 
is thy faith, be it unto thee even as thou wilt." 
The case under consideration is an unusual 
one, and Christ's treatment of it is quite 
unique, the like of which does not elsewhere 
occur, and such as could hardly be expected 
from Christ. A casual looker-on might very 
easily conclude that Christ's treatment of this 
woman was positively unkind. It is neverthe- 
less true that in this case, as in all others, 
things were so done by Christ as to be most 
instructive and most beneficial, not to the 
immediate beneficiaries alone, but to the dis- 
ciples, and to the church and believers in all 
time. These are great, universal object les- 
sons, as well in their personal application as 
to humanity itself. When the beloved Lazarus 
died Christ said to his disciples, "I am glad for 
vcur sakes that I was not there," for this death 



THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 95 

afforded a rare opportunity for the teaching 
and illustrating of some great doctrine yet to 
be taught them, and to the world for all time, 
and which could be done in no other way. It 
is often true that when a great principle is to 
be established, or truth illustrated, great trial 
and suffering must be endured by some one, 
and frequently the sufferers are the best peo- 
ple. Such was the case with Job. A great 
question was to be settled once for all, a uni- 
versal principle was to be established for all 
time. But this could be done only by some 
representative character passing through the 
severest possible test, which requires tempo- 
rary suffering. Christ is himself an illustrious 
example of this kind of suffering. In the case 
before us we see Christ dealing, not with his 
own people, nor with some individual believer, 
but with the suffering world in the very last 
throes of despair. 

What could better represent the world in its 
helpless ruin than this foreign woman coming 
in her desperation to Christ for relief? The 
multiform nationality of the woman may well 



96 THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 

represent the promiscuous Gentile world. She 
was a woman from Canaan, by birth a Greek, 
and by nation a Syro-phenecian. Hence about 
as thoroughly Gentile as one could imagine. 
From her case it would be impossible to argue 
that any particular Gentile nation was either 
favored or rejected by Christ. How this wo- 
man knew anything about Christ is not at all 
revealed. It is, however, not strange that she 
had heard of him, and that she came to him for 
relief. She had an afflicted daughter, probably 
an only child, and the affliction was something 
not only annoying, but exceedingly alarming, 
so much so that the mother was terrified. The 
daughter was grievously tormented with a de- 
mon. It was an extreme case, and it is pre- 
sumable that the woman in her distress had 
exhausted every means that might bring relief, 
and had inquired in every direction, hoping 
that she might hear of some one that could 
render aid. And it is not impossible that she 
had heard of the wonder workings of Christ, 
and was carefully watching for an opportunity 
to present her case to him. 



THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 97 

When we have a special and grievous afflic- 
tion in our family, how many remedies will be 
suggested; how we will hear about doctors and 
medicines and cures that otherwise never 
would have come to our knowledge. Naaman, 
because he was a leper, heard of Elijah the 
great prophet. Necessity is indeed the mother 
of invention. But for this demon-possessed 
girl, this woman would, no doubt, have re- 
mained in ignorance of the very existence of 
Christ, and she certainly never would have 
known him as she did after this interview re- 
garding her daughter. The first thing worthy 
of special notice in the case of this woman 
is the difficulties she encountered in her ap- 
proach to Christ. And in the study of these 
we see her indomitable will and determination 
which led her to victory. 

1. In coming to Christ for such a favor she 
must surmount the national difficulty. In that 
country and time national differences were 
much more difficult to overcome than in our 
times. This woman was the veriest Gentile, 
and Christ had distinctlv asserted that his 



98 THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 

mission was not to any except the Jews. She 
was an outsider in the strictest sense. This 
was in itself a difficulty that was apparently 
insuperable. She was asking for something 
that did not belong to her, and to which she 
had positively no claim. It was presumption in 
her to ask for this favor. But, either unmind- 
ful of this or with a determination to overcome 
it, she came and presented her claim and eager- 
ly pressed her case. She had only one object 
in view — success. 

2. When she came and presented her case, 
Christ was conspicuously silent. He an- 
swered her not a word, as if utterly to reject 
her without a hearing. The implication is that 
she stood at some distance from Christ, feeling 
that she was a stranger, and perhaps did not 
know how near she might approach him with 
impunity. This silence on the part of Christ 
was something unusual in cases of distress and 
suffering. We are not told that Christ was 
busily engaged just at this time — he was, how- 
ever, never too busy to minister to the needy. 
Christ was in a house, and desired that his 



THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 99 

presence should be concealed from the public. 
How often the woman claimed his attention is 
not mentioned. But he gave her no answer. 

3. The silence of Christ does not discourage 
the woman. She changes her tactics, and 
makes her plea through the disciples, urging 
them to plead her case and intercede for her. 
This she continues until they come to Christ 
and ask him to grant her request and send her 
away — her cries are beginning to annoy them. 
Her importunity has become exceedingly pa- 
thetic, until the hearts of the disciples are 
touched by the evident distress of the woman, 
and they are anxious that she should obtain 
her request. But Christ explains to them the 
reason of his apparent indifference. She is a 
foreigner, and it is out of his line and jurisdic- 
tion. Thus the woman is again repulsed. It 
appears a little strange that he should refuse 
a blessing on such grounds — and especially 
such a request as this. But, as we shall see, 
there was an element ot maneuvering in his 
conduct that is of prime importance. It 
would seem that by this time the woman would 

LofC. 



100 THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 

be totally discouraged and even disgusted, and 
would hopelessly turn from the scene, doomed 
to endure her unhappy fate as best she could. 
But she is still unwilling to give up the strug- 
gle, and appears to be more determined than 
ever. 

4. She again changes the form of her appeal. 
She now comes and falls at his feet and pleads 
for mercy. Is there any significance in the 
verbal change of her appeal? Hitherto she 
had addressed Christ as the Lord, the Son of 
David, thus by the very designation excluding 
herself, for she could claim no relation to Da- 
vid. But now she addresses him as the Lord of 
mercy. Mercy must transcend all national dis- 
tinctions. Mercy must ignore all petty jealous- 
ies, and at times even common courtesies in 
order to bestow needed blessings. The cry has 
now become that of an utterly helpless victim. 
All she can now do is to throw herself on his 
mercy. The cry of, "Lord, help!" revealed the 
profoundest sense of utter helplessness. Was 
not this enough to move the hardest heart? 
But, strange as it may appear, Christ again 



THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 101 

rejects her, and this time more severely than 
ever before. His language is unexpected and 
remarkable — language that we would scarcely 
expect from the Son of God, the friend and 
Savior of sinners — whose express mission is to 
bring relief, to heal and to bless, and who so 
emphatically said that he would in no wise 
turn away any that came to him. Do not his 
actions here contradict those sublimely full 
and free invitations? He not only refuses to 
bless her, but he repulses her with language 
that would seem to be an intentional insult. 
He uses the harshest terms to designate her 
Gentile nationality. It is not proper, says he, 
to take the bread from the children's table and 
give it to the dogs. She, being a Gentile dog, 
was thus entirely excluded from any portion. 
There is nothing for her. 

Will not this instantly and forever repulse 
her? It would seem that such was the purpose 
of Christ in using these words. But just the 
unexpected again occurred. Instead of yielding 
in despair, the supreme moment of her victory 
had arrived, and the golden opportunity was 



102 THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 

presented. As if imbued with sudden inspira- 
tion she grasps the very words of Christ, and 
with an unanswerable retort she silences him 
and in triumph seizes the prize. Her answer 
to Christ is transcendently beautiful, and ab- 
solutely invincible. The reproachful word 
"dog" was her deadly weapon. With it she 
felled the son of God and scored the most sub- 
lime victory on record. "If I am a dog, so 
be it, I still claim my portion. There is a 
portion even for the dogs under the table; this 
I claim." This could not be denied her, and 
her portion was all she asked. Thus the last 
difficulty was overcome and the victory 
achieved. 

What a lesson there is here for us to con- 
sider. Like this woman, we often do not know 
what our portion is, and consequently our 
prayers and desires are not to the point. She 
became willing tc take just what was her part 
— the portion of a dog. Here her will and the 
will of Christ coincided, and the blessing must 
be granted. But when she had prevailed in 
the struggle, Christ granted her the very bless- 



THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 103 

ing she at first asked — her daughter was made 
whole — the demon was cast out from that 
very hour. It appears then that there way 
no real opposition on the part of Christ — 
there was no impossibility nor even impropri- 
ety in granting this blessing to this foreign 
woman, but she was not at first in the right 
attitude to receive the blessing. What trans- 
pired was only a necessary preparation on her 
part. From her first request to her final vic- 
tory there is a very great change in her atti- 
tude toward Christ ; there is very marked prog- 
ress in two important things — in faith and 
in humility. By her faith she conquered, but 
that faith could not even exist until there 
was the proper condition of things. She must 
be repulsed, once, twice, thrice, yea even four 
times before the conquering climax was 
reached. It was through a storm of opposition 
that she gained the stronghold. Two things 
are to be especially observed in this woman's 
case — the constant ascent toward climactic 
faith, and the constant descent toward climac- 
tic humility, and they reach their limit when 



104 THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 

she lies at Christ's feet. Humility admits that 
she is only a Gentile dog, while faith claims a 
dog's portion of the blessing. Notice some of 
the steps in this transformation: 

1. The first attitude — she stood at a distance 
and called to the Son of Dayid to haye mercy 
on her. It is quite eyident that neither hu- 
mility nor faith were prominent in her atti- 
tude or language. She cries, calls again and 
again but eyokes no response from the Mas- 
ter. Her tone and position both indicate rath- 
er a command than true prayer. Her voice 
was certainly heard by Christ, and yet she was 
not heard. She certainly prayed, and yet she 
did not pray. Her position and prayer at this 
point represent precisely the larger part of 
prayer offered to God by professed Christians. 
It is rather commanding God to giye us what 
we would like to haye, than worshipful and 
humble asking foi what we need and for things 
agreeable to his will. The granting of the re- 
quest at this point of the procedure was an 
impossibility according to the laws of diyine 
grace. The proper conditions had not been 



THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS 105 

satisfied. Had the blessing been given at this 
point Christ would have violated the most im- 
portant principle in the divine economy of re- 
demption, the woman would have lost the 
greatest blessing of her life, the church would 
have been without one of the most brilliant 
illustrations of faith, and the Bible would have 
been minus one of its brightest and most val- 
uable jewels. 

2. The first attempt being an utter failure, 
the woman changes her attitude somewhat and 
addresses herself to the disciples of Christ and 
cries after them, attempting to reach the ear 
of Christ through them. She continued in 
this until they began to be annoyed by her 
crying after them, and they appeal to Christ 
in her behalf, asking that her request be 
granted. Here we notice a decided advance 
on the part of the woman toward Christ. She 
now begins to understand that more than a 
mere formal asking is necessary. She is be- 
coming more humble, and she realizes more 
the dignity of the person to whom she has 
come. And withal she manifests an increas- 



106 THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 

ing determination to succeed. And these new 
ideas of Christ only strengthen her faith in 
his ability to grant the blessing she sought. 
She is growing stronger, and at the same time 
realizes more and more her utterly helpless 
condition. We note, also, a change in Christ. 
He is willing at least to answer the disciples as 
they present the woman's petition, however 
unfavorable it may be. But now they have 
his reason for not granting the blessing. The 
woman doubtless hears his refusal, and con- 
siders what is to be done next. Will she now 
surrender the case, give up in despair and re- 
turn to her wretched home disappointed and 
hopeless? This thought she cannot entertain 
for a moment, although she has been twice re- 
jected. 

3. But there is another act in the scene. 
We next see her an humble suppliant bowing 
at the feet of Christ begging for mercy. Here 
again there is an advance beyond her former 
position. The second denial was a great trial 
of her faith, but instead of repulsing her, it 
only draws her closer. Her increasing faith 



THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 107 

and humility are manifest in her progressive 
action. But there is a more decided advance 
in her humility. First was simply the request, 
or demand, then the earnest pleading with the 
disciples, now it is prostration and most hum- 
ble worship, begging for mercy. Here is a 
clinging faith like that of Jacob wrestling with 
the angel, and a profound sense of utter help- 
lessness. She realizes that it is an only hope. 
And here is an increase of humility, such as 
we cannot fully appreciate unless we knew 
the social standing of this woman. She may 
have been wealthy and of high social stand- 
ing among her people, and knew nothing of 
the grace of humility. May not this explain, 
in part at least, Christ's apparent indifference 
to her at first? Is it not to teach us that 
the hand that receives the blessing, whether 
it be that of a king or of a slave must be 
extended by the suppliant at the feet of Christ? 
4. But once more she is repulsed. Even as 
she lies at his feet she is refused the blessing 
she craves. To her prayer for mercy Christ 
replies that it is not proper to take the child- 



108 THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 

ren's bread and give it to the dogs. Was it 
to humiliate her still more? Was it once more 
to try the genuineness of her faith? Was it 
to ask the question whether she was really 
helpless and in earnest in this matter? But 
it is just at this point that she gains the 
victory. She has now reached her extremity, 
which creates Christ's opportunity. Three or 
four climaxes here meet, as the rays of light 
and heat through a great burning glass meet 
to create the intense burning heat. So here 
all the powers of the soul with their utmost 
force and tension have reached their combined 
climax. Here faith has reached its utmost 
limit. Nothing but an absolute faith — a de- 
termined grasp on Christ as the one who alone 
could and would save, could have forced her 
to continue as she had done up to this point. 
Along with this faith there is sublime humil- 
ity which has prostrated her at the feet of 
Christ and made her willing to be anything in 
order that she may obtain the blessing. Again 
there was the complete surrender of her will 
to the will of Christ. It was no longer what 



THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 109 

she wanted, but only what he had to give her 
— mercy alone was now her plea. But once 
more, there was the keenest sense of extreme 
need of immediate help. And it must be done 
immediately. All had come to the ultimate 
point. Nothing beyond is possible on her part. 
Hence the result must be, the immedi- 
ate bestowal of the blessing. Every condi- 
tion was fully met, and she obtained the bless- 
ing sought. But the blessing obtained by this 
struggle was far more valuable than the mere 
healing of her daughter. She obtained not 
only this blessing, but she learned the secret 
of obtaining all blessings. Will not like faith 
and humility, submission and dependence al- 
ways meet with the same divine approval? 
Is there not here a secret for all? Will not 
Christ do for each one of us to-day precisely 
what he did for this woman, if we fulfil the 
conditions as she did? Has the day and the 
necessity for such blessings passed away? 
Were these gifts and powers given to the ear- 
lier Christians only temporary? When were 



110 THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 

these things revoked? Has Christ revoked 
them, or has the church by her lack of faith 
and her worldliness lost these blessings and 
the power to obtain them? The church to- 
day argues that the gift of miracles and the 
obtaining of miraculous blessings were tempo- 
rary and belonged only to the very early 
church, and that these gifts and blessings are 
not needed now. There is however, no Scrip- 
ture to support such arguments. It certainly 
is apparent that the gift of miracles and the 
obtaining of miraculous blessings is precisely 
coextensive with the commission to preach the 
Gospel to all nations. The arguments and ex- 
planations usually given are nothing more 
than a weak apology by the church for her 
weakness and faithlessness by which she has 
lost these gifts. Why cannot we do these 
things? The answer comes from Christ to us 
as it did to the disciples when they could not 
heal the young man: "Because of your unbe- 
lief." "This sort," continues Christ, "goes out 
only by prayer and fasting." Prayer and fast- 



THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. Ill 

ing are lost arts in the church of to-day, and 
fun and feasting have been substituted for 
them, and the church says we do not need these 
gifts and powers — rather, she does not want 
them — they are not in harmony with modern 
religion, when preachers strive for easy, hon- 
orable places and fat salaries, and the church 
wants tickling rather than teaching, and gos- 
sip rather than Gospel. 

Who was this nameless woman? Does she 
appear anywhere else in the world's history? 
Why was not her name left on record for fu- 
ture ages? But what is there after all in a 
name? The loss of her name only makes her 
actions more prominent, for we can know her 
only through her works — these will stand the 
test of all time. When Tyre will have passed 
into oblivion, this event will appear only the 
more prominent, and this woman's deed will 
appear woven in immortelles above the Forgot- 
ten city. She is a remarkable illustration. 
This event could not have occurred with a 
Jew. There must be a heathen woman, and 
then all the attendant circumstances necessary 



112 THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 

to make the work just what it was, and what 
Christ intended that it should be for all time. 
We have in this explained to us why Christ 
passed through the coasts of T} r re and Sidon 
upon this occasion. 



THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 11. 



CHAPTER V. 
THE CROOKED MADE STRAIGHT. 

"The Savior smiles! Upon my soul 
New tides cf hope tumultuous roll! 
His voice proclaims my pardon found, 
Seraphic transport wings the sound. 

" Earth has a joy unknown in heaven, — 
The new-born peace of sin forgiven; 
Tears of such pure and deep delight, 
Ye angels! never dimmed your sight." 

— A. L. Hillhouse. 

Before us is a most pitiable object — one that 
appeals to our sympathies without regard to 
her financial or social circumstances. Wheth- 
er she be intellectual and intelligent, or feeble 
minded — an object always noticed and looked 
upon as one of the unfortunates of earth, ab- 
solutely beyond all human skill to remedy, is 
unimportant. It is a crooked woman. A 
woman with her body all bent together and 
deformed. 

Everything else in the world may be crooked 

8 



114 THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 

and is crooked. There are crooked men, 
crooked animals, crooked trees, crooked every- 
thing. But a crooked woman is worst of all. 
Nothing God ever made is more beautiful and 
attractive than the pretty, well formed and 
straight woman. She arouses the slumbering 
admiration of even the rudest men, and is ad- 
mired by all. Female beauty surpasses all 
other forms of the beautiful. It should be 
cultivated and preserved and admired as one 
of the choicest gifts Cxod has bestowed upon 
the human race. It is a sin to be homely and 
deformed when it can be prevented. The 
woman who cares not for her personal ap- 
pearance, is apt also to neglect the moral and 
spiritual condition of her soul. The two seem 
to be very closely allied. Carelessness and 
filth and moral depravity are born of the saniej 

parent. 

How unfortunate is the woman whose body 
is deformed or bowed together. Whatever 
other graces she may possess, whatever at- 
tractions she may have, all cannot entirely 
compensate for this defect. With men the 



THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 115 

case is somewhat different. With them the 
matter of personal appearance is not so im- 
portant a consideration. They are not ex- 
pected to be pretty. Not so much depends up- 
on the physical form. The}- can make their 
way in the world, they can even marry, in 
spite of their looks and physical defects. But 
not so with the crooked woman. She is spe- 
cially unfortunate. 

And this particular woman was hopelessly 
so. She could in no way lift herself up. She 
had been a long time in that condition. By 
some fell accident or grim disease, eighteen 
years before, she was put into this unfortu- 
nate and suffering condition. Christ says, 
however, that she was bound in this shape by 
Satan — evidently here meaning the devil. 
Was it some form of demoniacal possession 
with which she was afflicted? There is no 
evidence that she was mentally deranged, or 
that she was morally worse than others. Does 
Christ here teach us that special physical af- 
flictions and deformities are special feats of 
the devil? This woman, says he, was bound 



116 THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 

by Satan. Are all such cases bound by Satan? 
Were they so during Christ's life on earth, and 
are they so still? Are all the crooked and de- 
formed in this age of the world bound by Sa- 
tan? Or was this a peculiar case? Or does 
Christ simply mean that this woman's afflic- 
tion, and all like cases are the direct or indi- 
rect result of sin in general, of which the devil 
is the author? It is presumable that he did 
mean something more than the ordinary con- 
sequences of sin to which all are subject. He 
seems to imply that this case was the special 
work of the devil, and makes that one plea 
in justification of the healing being done on 
the Sabbath day. But if this case was the 
special work of the devil, were not all sim- 
ilar cases in his time, and if they were so 
then, why are they not so now? Is there any 
essential difference between physical affliction 
now and in the time of Christ? Was demo- 
niacal possession an affliction peculiar to his 
time on earth, and if so, why was it so? Is 
there any essential difference between those 
possessed then and many cases of lunacy and 



THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 117 

epilepsy and such like cases in our times? 
But perhaps these questions are all easier 
asked than answered. It is doubtles true, how- 
ever, that we do not know how much of hu- 
man suffering and misfortune may be the di- 
rect personal work of Satan. It is certainly 
his purpose to work all the suffering and mis- 
chief that comes within the range of his pow- 
er. And we are told that he is continually 
seeking whom he may (is permitted to) de- 
vour. So that it is only a restraining power 
that keeps him from working general disaster 
and ruin among mankind. It is also a com- 
forting thought, on the other hand, that there 
is a restraining power that says "thus far 
and no farther shalt thou go," and that we 
are in the care of angels who are God's mes- 
sengers and agents to minister to those who 
are believers. 

Many of these questions are interesting at 
present as bearing more or less directly upon 
the claims that are now made by many who 
propose to heal all manner of mental and phys- 
ical ailments, not by divine power, but by the 



118 THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 

application of power in man — of mind over 
matter. These healers claim to have rediscov- 
ered a long lost science and art, practiced by 
Christ, and many of the ancients. That any 
such claims to heal are genuine, remains yet 
to be demonstrated. We doubt not that the 
mind has great power over the body, and that 
many physical ailments are nothing more than 
nervous derangements resulting from morbid 
mental conditions, and that will power has 
much to do in the recovery from many forms 
of physical derangements. This is, however, 
not proof positive that the work of Christ was 
nothing more than ordinary mind over mat- 
ter, or that all afflictions of the body may be 
healed by mental power. 

The record tells us that this crooked wom- 
an was in the synagogue on the Sabbath day, 
presumably to engage in worship, or perhaps 
drawn by a sight-seeing crowd, such as usu- 
ally followed Christ through mere curiosity. 
She was, however, a daughter of Abraham. 
This may mean nothing more than that she 
was a Jewess. At anv rate she was at the 



THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 119 

proper place on the Sabbath day, and as it 
proved to be, she was there at the right time 
as well. It is not stated that she came with 
any expectation of being healed, or that she 
even entertained any such hope. She had no 
doubt heard of Christ, and possibly had seen 
some of his work, but had never come in per- 
sonal contact with him. But her being in the 
synagogue was the occasion. Had she not 
been there, she might have remained crooked 
all her life. 

How many, indeed, miss the greatest and 
richest blessings by not being in the syna- 
gogue at the right time — every Sabbath and at 
every service. How many remain crooked all 
their lives because they do not meet Christ in 
the synagogue—at church on the Sabbath day. 
How many have been straightened by being 
at church on the Sabbath? Aside from all 
the possibilities and circumstances that may 
arise, there are special promises that can be 
claimed only by meeting with Christ at the 
time and place he has appointed, and not to 
be there is to be the loser, The church build- 



120 THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 

ing symbolizes the presence of God, where he 
reveals himself to his people for their worship 
and his blessings, and to ignore this is to for- 
feit God's most gracious offers of blessings to 
man. We are very seldom the recipients of 
God's special blessings away from church and 
church influences. Many are not blessed be- 
cause they do not meet the conditions even of 
time and place. How many of the crooked, 
the feeble and the disabled in the body are 
the really faithful in the service of God, while 
many who are able bodied utterly fail of the 
grace of God because they do not place them- 
selves in a position to receive the blessing. 
They are able in body and in mind to obtain 
the very best that God has to give, but they 
obtain it not because they are not at the syna- 
gogue. 

Where the crooked woman is there is also 
the divine healing hand. That hand can make 
the crookedest straight — the worst deformities 
of body and soul. The hand that formed the 
worlds also formed the crooked serpent. The 
hand that regulates the movements of the 



THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 121 

ponderous suns and guides the stupendous, 
swift-flying Arcturus in his vast unknown or- 
bit, also directs the flight of the timid little 
sparrow in its daily quest for food. The hand 
that guides the scythe-winged lightning and 
shakes the heavens with thunder, tints the 
most delicate rose and causes the noiseless 
growth of the springing grass. That hand can 
bind up the broken worlds and scoop up the 
vast seas, and it can impart the healing touch 
to a deformed human being and wipe away a 
flowing tear. The hand that stretched out the 
north over the empty place and toucheth the 
hills and they smoke, that finger with its divine 
touch sends the current of divine elixir 
through the deformed human body and recre- 
ates every muscle and nerve, and out of ugli- 
ness and deformity brings forth beauty and 
health and joy. 

Nor does the healing power extend only to 
the deformed body. But the soul as well may 
feel the thrill of the divine touch and be freed 
from its thraldom — its crookedness of sin. Pas- 
sion and vice and every form of mental and 



122 THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 

spiritual derangement quickly yield to the 
great Healer's touch, and the fears of the be- 
nighted soul flee before this divine light like 
the dark-winged angel of night before the 
beams of the ascending sun. What a world 
were this, were it not for this benign hand. 
In how many ways does it minister to our 
daily wants and desires. 

It is not recorded that this crooked woman 
asked to be healed. The very sight of her 
infirmity moved the compassionate heart of 
Christ, and he would not let her depart in 
that condition. She then and there found the 
greatest of all temporal blessings. How must 
she have felt to have returned to her home a 
straight and well woman! What joy there 
was in that home. Did they recognize her as 
the poor, deformed creature that had left the 
home that morning to go to the synagogue? 
Crooked for eighteen years, become a weari- 
ness to the eyes of her family and friends, 
and now suddenly and unexpectedly made per- 
fectly straight. What a find this was to this 
poor invalid. 



THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 123 

How many of life's choicest blessings are 
thus found. Truly the kingdom- of God — the 
richest blessings God bestows, temporal and 
spiritual, are like the treasure hid in the field, 
and are found when they are not especially 
sought. The toiling farmer is grubbing his 
land and suddenly discovers a gold mine, and 
soon his rugged hills are worth a mint and 
he is rolling in luxury and wealth. A young 
man is invited to spend an evening socially 
with a neighbor to meet a visiting friend. The 
sweet voice, the graceful manner, the bewitch- 
ing expression of the eye of the new acquaint- 
ance awakens a strange emotion in his bos- 
om, and he soon discovers that he has found 
his future wife. Some accidentally discover 
that they have special talents that become 
their fortune. But Christ teaches us not to 
wait for these accidental finds. He bids us 
seek, with the promise that we shall find. 
The accidental finds are the exceptions. Gen- 
erally the prizes are obtained only by careful 
and persistent seeking. The most valuable 
inventions are not stumbled upon, but are the 



124 THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS, 

rewards of toil and continued search — days of 
hard work and nights of sleepless thought. 
Only a few things come by the grace of God 
unaccompanied by human effort and the wise 
use of means. Xine-tenths of genius is only 
the gift of persistent toil, a gift which Dame 
Nature places within reach of all, but whose 
value is appreciated only by the few. While 
a few of those who were healed by Christ 
accidentally found him, the great majority of 
the beneficiaries obtained the blessings by 
earnest seeking. Nor were any of the seekers 
ever turned away unblest. 

But whether this crooked woman sought the 
blessing or not, she obtained it. And we 
would suppose that all who knew of her con- 
dition would rejoice. To see a poor deformed 
woman made straight and return to her home 
entirely made anew; who would not be glad! 
But even here the vile objector raises his 
voice. There are those who can find fault 
with anything. Let Jesus Christ in the ful- 
ness of his love and mercy perform a most 
benevolent work upon a needy, suffering hu- 



THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 125 

man being, and some one will find objection 
to the time or place or manner of the deed. 
Oh, the critic, the abominable fault-finder, in 
whose eyes everything is wrong! Here it was 
the ruler of the synagogue that was displeased, i 
and how his objection shows the narrowness 
of his soul. It is difficult to see how the hu- 
man soul could be reduced to such diminutive 
dimensions. Is it not easier for a Pharisee 
to go through the eye of a needle than for 
him to understand the broadness of saving 
grace? There are those who exhaust all their 
skill to find some objection or criticism against 
the church and Christians — not that the fault 
actually exists, but because the objector de- 
sires to cover some sin in his own soul. There 
are those who seem to think they are under 
no obligation to serve God so long as it is 
possible to find some fault with the church 
or some of its members. 

This ruler of the synagogue saw Christ only 
through his own distorted, critical eyes, that 
misrepresented everything not made to fit 
them. It is very amusing to look through 



12G THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 

glasses made for the purpose of distorting 
things, and they can be constructed to suit 
any fancy whatever. How many use such 
glasses. 

Worst of all are the Pharisees. Every one 
else is inferior as seen by a genuine Pharisee. 
We can deal with sinners and bear with the 
weakness of Christians, we can endure the 
stubborn and kindly lend a helping hand to 
the unfortunate, but not even Christ himself 
could do anything with the self-righteous Phar- 
isee. The subjects that baffle every preacher 
and Christian worker are those that sarcasti- 
cally say: "I am just about as good as some 
of your church members." This is ancient 
Phariseeism reduced to its ultimate analysis. 

The objection of the ruler of the synagogue 
was very astutely made. He did not speak to 
Christ directly regarding the miracle, but 
whipped him over the shoulders of the people 
by abruptly commanding them to come during 
the six days of the week to be healed and not 
on the Sabbath day. There is an undertone 
in his language which implies that Christ has 



THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 127 

no conscience in the matter, he would just as 
soon heal on the Sabbath day as on any other 
day, so the evil can be corrected only by the 
people not coming on the Sabbath day and so 
give Christ no opportunity to profane the Sab- 
bath. The ruler was indignant and spoke 
sharply to the people. They must observe the 
regulations of the synagogue. 

Christ at once answered for the people, and 
stoutly reproved the hypocritical ruler, by 
showing him the inconsistency of his life. 
These very fault-finders would water and feed 
their stock on the Sabbath day to keep them 
from suffering. This required actual physical 
labor, and it is only humane that it should be 
done. But to heal a wretchedly afflicted wom- 
an, bowed together and bound by Satan was 
a great sin, if done on the Sabbath day. No 
wonder Christ sharply called him a hypocrite. 
It is almost incredible that men of reason 
should attempt to find fault with an act so 
clearly a work of necessity and mercy, and at 
the same time bearing every evidence that it 
was done by divine power and authority. 



128 THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 

Could they be so blind and so prejudiced as 
to object to this? Truly none are so blind as 
those who will not see. 

But one word explains it all — they were his 
adversaries. They bitterly hated him and 
could not tolerate anything he did. Not that 
they saw any real wrong in his work, nor that 
there was really any impropriety in the man- 
ner and time of doing it. But they were so 
envious of Christ that it was impossible for 
them to look on him with anything but an 
evil eye. Nothing is as unreasonable and as 
cruel as hatred and envy. When these are 
in the heart there is room for nothing else. 
Nothing in the life or character or work or dig- 
nity of the victim of hatred avails anything. 
It is simply "let him be crucified." The rec- 
ord of the life of Christ tells us that envy 
was the cause of opposition against him and 
that he was delivered to be crucified through 
envy. He was hated to death. 

Four forms of sin are mentioned in the ac- 
count of the arrest and trial of Christ that 
accomplished his crucifixion. The first, as we 



THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 129 

have already seen, was envy on the part of 
his enemies. This envy had only one purpose 
— to put him to death. It would be satisfied 
with nothing less than to nail the son of God 
to the cross. Is enyj now any less cruel than 
it was then? Will it still crucify Christ? 
Nothing is too revolting for envy to do, in 
the family, in society, in political life, yea even 
in the church of God. 

But envy alone could not lay hands on its 
victim. It must find a handmaiden — a be- 
trayer to deliver him up. Here the love of 
money — avarice — is a ready helper. Money 
answers all purposes — it secures the neces- 
saries of life and brings luxuries and pleasures 
— and it hires men to betray the Son of God. 
A power for good or for evil is money. An 
avaricious Judas was ready to be hired to de- 
liver his master into the hands of the enemy, 
and for thirty pieces of silver — the ordinary 
price of a slave — the bargain was closed, and 
the opportunity for the arrest carefully 
watched. 

Once in the hands of the enemy and under 
9 



130 THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 

arrest, there must be some form of condem- 
nation. But the life and work of Christ had 
been such that no charges could be preferred 
against him. Here falsehood offers its serv- 
ices. False witnesses are ready to testify to 
anything that is necessary to condemn him to 
death. With these at hand the mock trial 
proceeds until he is pronounced a blasphemer 
and is brought before the ruler for the death 
sentence. 

The clever Pilate, however, finds no fault in 
him and proposes to release him. But this 
course is not pleasing io the people, and he 
is afraid not to please — he would rather cru- 
cify Christ — although contrary to his own 
judgment — than displease the people. Hence 
the last of the quartet of sins is servility — 
that sinful weakness which prefers to please 
the w r orld rather than own and serve Christ 
— servility completes the work — it quickly 
signs the death warrant and delivers the con- 
demned Christ into the hands • of the execu- 
tioner. 

Thus envy, avarice, falsehood and servility 



THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 131 

accomplish the death of Christ, envy being the 
instigator. It was the same form of sin that 
found fault with Christ for healing the crooked 
woman. But how beautifully Christ puts the 
adversaries to shame. Should they not have 
been ashamed to oppose such a miraculous 
work of mercy? Should there not always be 
shame when Christ is opposed and rejected? 
How the scene has changed since we first 
looked at this picture. Then we saw a 
strange woman bowed together and almost 
helpless, showing signs of long distress and 
suffering. Now we see her straight as a young 
woman, bearing every evidence of health and 
soundness of body. A remarkable transforma- 
tion has taken place, such as had not been seen 
before. She returns to her home and we see 
her no more. Who she was we know not. 
She was nameless there in the temple and she 
is nameless still. Nor will her name ever be 
known until, with other nameless ones, it is 
read from the great Lamb's Book of Life. 
But while she is nameless here on earth, she 
is immortal. In spite of the envious objectors 



132 THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 

she stands erect as a monument of Christ's 
work. She stands erect to testify to the 
world that there is healing for the crooked, 
whether it be the crooked in body or in busi- 
ness. The crooked in conduct or the crooked 
in the church, the crooked in thought or in 
word. For all such there is something better. 
All may be made straight and the great 
straightener is Christ. It is a terrible thing to 
be crooked, and to live crooked, and to die 
crooked. But it need not be so. Christ came 
to make the crooked straight, and none are 
so gnarled and distorted and so knotty that 
he cannot make them after his own model 
of beauty and perfection. Perhaps no one can 
be more hopeless than was this crooked wom- 
an. She was not only healed but she is placed 
in that immortal group that clusters around 
the blessed Christ. They are the trophies of 
his redeeming work, the illustrations of his 
power to save from every form of affliction 
and sin. 



THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 133 



CHAPTER VI. 

THE TRIUMPH OF GRACE. 

"Yea, line by line, my life's dark page he gently read 

me o'er. 
He spake in wisdom and in love as man ne'er spake 

before. 
Against my soul, so stained with sin. no curse of 

wrath was hurled. 
Then knew I it was Christ, the Lord, the Savior cf 
the world." 

— Anna Shipton. 

The enemies of Christ exhausted every 
means by which they might find some accu- 
sation against him. His words were misinter- 
preted, his life was criticised and his noblest 
works of love and mercy were condemned and 
assigned to the agency of the devil. It may 
be naturally expected, however, that when 
Christ came to destroy the works of the devil, 
that the devil would put forth all his powers 
to defeat Christ, and use all the means avail- 
able to that end. The devices of wicked men, 
the cunning influences of demons and Satan's 



134 THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 

own incarnation in the person of Judas Is- 
cariot, were some of the forces of the devil 
used in opposing Christ and his work. 

The life of Christ was on the one hand a 
constant work of actual salvation, on every 
side he snatched suffering and perishing hu- 
man beings from the tortures of disease and 
the jaws of death, and from the powers of in- 
dwelling demons; on the other hand, his life 
was a hand-to-hand conflict with the great arch 
fiend. And just as the work of Christ required 
his human incarnation, so to oppose him on 
equal grounds, the devil also became incar- 
nate in the person of Judas, the betrayer. 
As the devil can transform himself into an 
angel of light in order to accomplish a pur- 
pose, so may he also become incarnate in that 
human nature which through his influence be- 
came sin-cursed and corrupt. Did not Christ 
say "Have I not chosen twelve of you, and 
one of you is a (the) devil — not a demon, but 
the devil?" This is the only place where a 
human being is ever called the devil. Many 
were possessed of demons. But the indwel- 



THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 135 

ling demon and the man in whom the demon 
dwelt were two distinct persons. But Judas 
is the devil. Was not the tempter who strove 
with Christ in the wilderness for forty days 
only Judas, the devil incarnate, in the same 
sense in which Christ was God incarnate? 
The whole character and conduct of Judas go 
to prove this theory. 

Our present study is another illustration of 
the wicked designs of Christ's enemies. Here 
is another effort to find some accusation. The 
whole circumstance is worthy of careful study. 
The effort against Christ is a most signal fail- 
ure on the part of the opposition, and the vic- 
tory is gained by Christ in the most illustrious 
manner. Never were a set of men more 
shamefully overpowered by a sense of guilt and 
more severely lashed by guilty consciences 
than were these. It is a striking comment on 
the moral condition of the community when 
every one of a crowd of men, professedly so 
chaste that they cannot endure an impure char- 
acter, are in reality so corrupt and so severely 
self-condemned that they slink away like a 



136 THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 

pack of guilty dogs. What an illustration 
of human depravity. Christ had come early 
in the morning into the city from the Mount 
of Olives, from the Hotel-Galilee, where was 
his accustomed lodging place, during his terms 
of preaching and teaching in Jerusalem. It 
was at Hotel-Galilee, and not in the country 
of Galilee, that Christ appointed to meet his 
disciples after his resurrection. 

This morning he went directly to the temple 
and began to teach, and soon the crowd as- 
sembled to hear him as usual. Upon this oc- 
casion it was rather an unusual company that 
assembled. It was the outcome of a secret plot 
to confuse and catch him in his teachings. 
His doctrines had been rather displeasing to 
the Scribes and Pharisees and they were eager 
to find some clue by which they might formu- 
late some sort of accusation against him. 
Their principal aim was to lead him to con- 
tradict the teachings of Moses. The Scribes 
and Pharisees were very scrupulous Moses- 
ites by profession and in external forms, but 
in reality they were utterly anti-Moses. 



THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 137 

This morning they force upon Christ a con- 
crete case to tempt him to a positive statement 
and test. They think to compel him to pass 
judgment in an actual example presented, so 
as either to justify them, or contradict him- 
self. Before him in the temple is a mob com- 
posed of Scribes and Pharisees and such oth- 
ers as have joined hands with them in oppos- 
ing Christ. This mob is apparently composed 
of very upright, moral men, and they seem to 
be very angry and outraged at the conduct of a 
certain female whom they no doubt had se- 
cured for the occasion, for it was certainly a 
put up game, as appears later. 

Not that the woman was by any means inno- 
cent, nor even falsely accused. But it was cer- 
tainly not that they were so anxious to rid the 
city of such nuisances nor the sin of which she 
was accused that impelled them. It was 
Christ's blood for which they were really 
thirsty, and they were determined to shed it 
if possible. 

A bloodthirsty mob is the most horrid spec- 
tacle ever contemplated. Men are never so 



138 THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 

brute-like and unreasonable as in a promis- 
cuous mob — they have neither souls nor brains. 
Here before Christ were angry, red faces on 
every side. Biting teeth seemed ready literally 
to devour the victim. Stout hands were 
clenching stones already uplifted to hurl with 
unerring and deadly aim the crushing blow. 
Deep muttering threats and cursings are heard 
from the lips of the more desperate element of 
the rabble. 

A wretchedly dejected and besmirched fe- 
male, half dead with fear, is dragged perforce 
into the midst of the mob immediately in front 
of and in full view of Christ. She is over- 
whelmed with shame and disgrace, and fright- 
ened almost to insensibility. She has been 
ruthlessly arrested by her own destroyers and 
dragged by mob violence into the temple and 
into the presence of Christ. The foreman of 
the mob, with a presumptuous and self- 
righteous air, briefly states the case, and the 
Mosaic law applying to it. There stand a host 
of witnesses ready to testify to the guilt of 
the accused. They stand in breathless silence 



THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 139 

to hear the verdict of Christ. Half a score of 
brawny men are ready to hurl the deadly stone, 
each one eager to deal the first blow. Only a 
word, and the execution will follow as a sweet 
morsel. Not, after all, that they were so 
anxious to kill the woman, but simply to carry 
their point. Nowhere is reason so completely 
dethroned as when malice rules the mob. 
Anger is always unreasonable and unjust, but 
numbers seem to add power to every human 
movement, and the larger the mob the more 
completely have men lost their sense. When- 
ever the law is in the hands of the lawless, 
justice and mercy plead in vain. 

But, to their surprise, the verdict is not ren- 
dered, and Christ seems even to be heedless 
regarding their indictment of the woman. He 
simply stooped down and wrote on the ground 
— what he wrote we may not even surmise, or 
why he thus acted may not easily be con- 
jectured. He pretended not to hear them, and 
they continue urging the case. Was he deeply 
absorbed in some other question and was he 
figuring it out on the ground? Or was it to 



140 THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 

show his contempt for their utterly hypocriti- 
cal procedure? He was, however, not indiffer- 
ent to what was being done. He not only 
heard their indictment and their appeal to the 
law of Moses, but his all-searching eye was 
reading the secrets of their hearts, which were 
even more sinful than the degraded victim they 
were trying to condemn. No doubt the very 
wretch who had effected her downfall was a 
leader in the mob, and loudest in condemning 
her, and ready to cast the first stone. A guilty 
conscience sometimes makes men display a 
wonderful show of bravery, when, by their dar- 
ing boldness, they hope to cover up their own 
sins. How many who are condemning earnest, 
struggling Christians are thereby turning the 
eyes of the world from their own sins to the 
enormously exaggerated imperfections of those 
whom they criticise? The self-condemned are 
often the most unmerciful in their criticisms 
and condemnations, while the purest and most 
upright are the most forbearing. 

Here all was centered on the accused wo- 
man. She was found in the very act of com- 



THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 141 

mitting the sin for which they were so eager 
to stone her. The crowd of men were all ap- 
parently so pure and so innocent that they 
could not endure her in their sight. Could we 
but see that crowd of men as Christ saw it, 
what a picture it would present. What a dem- 
onstration of Pharisaical hypocrisy. What a 
show of depraved human nature. They still 
continued their accusations, urging Christ to 
pass sentence. At length he majestically lifts 
himself and speaks. How the men hold 
their breath, eager to hear what Christ is 
about to say. What is his judgment in the 
case? What he says is very brief, but it means 
immensely more than is expressed by the few 
words he uttered. Hear him firmly say: "He 
that is without sin among you, let him first 
cast a stone at her." 

Was this the signal for the onslaught? Did 
the wretched woman bow her head for the 
deadly blow? Why did not the whizzing stones 
begin to shower on her condemned and defense- 
less head? Christ's words imply a verdict of 
guilty as accused. It might be freely rendered: 



142 THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 

"All right, the woman is guilty, and you have 
correctly applied the law to her case; proceed 
to the execution; only see to it that a pure, 
chaste man inflicts the penalty of the law; a 
man that is guilty of the same sin for which 
the woman is condemned dare not, according 
to the law of Moses, be executioner." 

There was a peculiar silence in the crowd. 
The men begin to look at one another as if to 
see what effect this peculiar speech of Christ 
was producing upon them. Christ was again 
quietly writing on the ground, leaving the 
brawling accusers to meditate on the judgment 
he had rendered. Christ had found no fault 
with the law of Moses. He had found no ob- 
jection to its application to the case in hand. 
He had not in any sense defended the woman 
nor palliated her crime. He simply states the 
true spirit and meaning of the law, and he 
gives no reason why the law should not be im- 
mediately applied. But is there one here that 
can legally do it? If the right man be here, 
let him proceed. The law will justify him. 



THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 143 

But who in that crowd could abide by the 
conditions? 

Aye, will not this condition stop every fault- 
finding mouth? Who can condemn and not 
condemn himself? "Judge not, that ye be not 
judged," for wherein we condemn others we 
also condemn ourselves. The letter of the law 
has been applied and the woman found guilty, 
but in the execution of the law, not only the 
letter, but especially the spirit of the law must 
be observed. The guilty shall not condemn 
nor inflict judgment upon the guilty. We 
might suppose that some of the enraged mob 
might feign innocence, or be desperate enough 
to proceed at once with the stoning. But this 
answer came so unexpectedly that it bewilders 
them, and it is so personal that it pricks the 
conscience of every accuser, so that they are 
all completely unnerved. How a guilty con- 
science makes a man a coward; how it withers 
his threatening arms and fists and turns his 
boasting to horrid shame. There they stood 
self-condemned before one another, for they 
were no doubt common partners in sin. They 



144 THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 

were condemned by the very law they tried to 
enforce against the woman, and what was still 
worse, they were condemned by the very judge 
to whom they had brought the woman for 
condemnation. It is more than they can stand. 
Hardened wretches as they are, they begin to 
blush with shame. The forces that a little 
while ago were bold against the helpless vic- 
tim now wither and fade with shame and de- 
feat. Slowly the leprous posse begins to 
sneak out of the room, the oldest and likely 
the most guilty leading the retreat. Like 
whipped curs they hasten to hide themselves 
even from one another and from their guilty 
consciences. Were ever a set of men more com- 
pletely defeated at their own game? Is there 
recorded anywhere a more striking illustra- 
tion of the power of the truth on the guilty 
conscience? Guilt cannot endure light and 
truth. The conscience-condemned man is the 
weakest and most wretched being in exist- 
ence. In a little while the woman is left 
standing alone. The stampeded mob had left 



THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 145 

their prey and fled. Not one remained to see 
the end of the matter. 

This all took place while Christ was yet 
stooping and writing on the ground. He had 
not driven the accusers away nor asked the 
woman to remain. He did not even look on. 
The truth was sufficient. It quickly and ef- 
fectually did the work. The woman remained 
standing in the midst awaiting a second ver- 
dict, no doubt expecting a most severe rebuke 
and condemnation. She must have felt that 
such was due her. 

Christ again raises himself up and looks on 
the woman before him. Not only the woman, 
but all of us may wonder what is going to take 
place. What verdict is Christ about to pro- 
nounce? What from the very nature of the 
case can it be? Is he going to question her as 
to her guilt and the extent and heinousness of 
her sin, and then judge her accordingly? This 
would be legal, and if this be done she is most 
certainly condemned, as also are all others. 
But the unlooked-for again happens, as it often 
does, however many there be who are always 
10 



14G THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 

ready to say sarcastically: "I told you so." 
But nothing was ever more unexpected and 
surprising than the issue of this trial. Instead 
of victory there is shameful defeat on the part 
of the accusers. And instead of judgment 
there is mercy for the accused; for the black- 
ness of sin and guilt there is divine forgiveness. 
Christ did not come into the world to reckon 
sin with men, but to offer pardon and salva- 
tion. The question is not how much have you 
sinned, and what is the character of your sin, 
but "Wilt thou be made whole?" Though 
your sins be as scarlet or red like crimson they 
shall be as white as snow, if you be willing. 

The woman stands uncondemned by both 
parties. The accusers were so overcome with a 
sense of their own guilt that they could find 
no condemnation even against this woman, and 
quietly left. And now Christ says: "Neither 
do 1 condemn thee." He came not to condemn 
the world but to save it. 

Notice, however, the difference in the two 
parties. The ground of their acquittal is quite 
unlike. The accusers did not condemn because 



THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 147 

they were themselves condemned. Christ con- 
demned not because of divine grace. Here is 
the difference between guilty accusers and a 
holy, merciful Savior. The one loves and cher- 
ishes sin in his own heart and stones others 
for being and doing like himself. The other 
condemns sin but by grace saves the sinner. 
Human accusers love sin and kill the sinner, 
while Christ kills sin and loves the sinner. He 
gently adds: "Go, and sin no more." 

He in no sense allows sin, but it is always 
"sin no more." "Neither do I condemn thee, 
go and sin no more." Have we ever heard these 
gracious words from his blessed lips? And 
have we ever spoken these words to those who 
may have sinned against us? Any one may ac- 
cuse or find fault, but to forgive is Christlike. 
Is there not a world of meaning in that petition 
in the Lord's prayer: "Forgive our debts as we 
forgive our debtors?" It is a positive duty for 
us to pay our debts, but we must not forget' 
that it requires much more grace to forgive a' 
debt than to pay a debt, and there are times 
when it becomes a Christian duty to forgive a 



148 THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 

debt. The forgiveness of Christ is unlike that 
of the world, or even that of the best and most 
liberal-hearted Christians. The forgiveness of 
men is usually no forgiveness at all. The very 
common and yet totally false theory is to 
forgive, but not forget. In other words, we 
agree to say nothing more about the offense, 
but in our heart there is the same feeling as 
before, and the same unwillingness to receive 
the offender into our friendship and confidence. 
If Christ did the same with us would any of us 
ever be saved? But if we don't, he will not. 

How genuine religion compels our hearts to 
be right with our fellow men before they can 
obtain the full favors and blessings of God. 
The great principles of divine forgiveness are 
remarkable in their scope. The following 
points are worthy of special note, for they ap- 
ply to us in our dealings with our fellow men 
as well as to God in his dealings with us. In 
the true spirit and act of forgiving an offender 
there is — 

1. The complete forgiveness and removal of 
the guilt and the injury done to us by the 



THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 140 

offender. The relation of the forgiven sinner 
to God is precisely the same as though he 
never had sinned. So it must be with those 
who have trespassed against us, if we would 
be like our divine Master. If this be not the 
true idea of forgiveness, it is impossible for 
man ever to be freed from guilt. 

2. There is the complete forgetting of the 
offense. God will remember forgiven sins no 
more. They are blotted out — removed as far 
as the east is from the west. Until there is 
this complete forgetting of sin true peace and 
happiness is impossible. We enter not here up- 
on the metaphysical impossibility of forgetting 
a thing. The trouble usually is unwillingness 
rather than impossibility. The metaphysical 
and the physical are largely controlled by the 
will, and will yield to the superior powers of 
love, which is the supreme love in the economy 
of redemption. 

3. There is the complete restoration of the 
sinner to the favor and confidence of Christ. 
This may seem impossible, but complete par- 
don embraces it. Nowhere is the beautv and 



150 THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 

infinitude of redemption — of divine grace — 
more fully demonstrated than in this act of 
restoration. By this act Christ becomes our 
brother, and we are made joint heirs with him. 
With men it may be very difficult to restore to 
our favor those who have sinned against us, 
but the divine injunction and the example of 
Christ demand nothing less than this. "Forgive 
us as we forgive" is the law. And Christ says 
if we do not from the heart forgive, we shall 
not be forgiven. This is indeed one of the 
most important as well as difficult things in 
all Christian experience. 

4. It follows then, that true forgiveness re- 
moves all the scandal of sin. How often is it 
said that the sin is forgiven, but there remains 
the scar, the injured character, the scandal 
that will follow the victim to the grave. This 
is certainly not true of the soul in the sight 
of God. This is not the way Christ forgives. 
There is not only pardon, but restoration. The 
blood of Christ cleanses from all sin and its 
consequences. Otherwise redemption were not 
complete. 



THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 151 

5. But be it remembered that along with 
such pardon there is the positive injunction: 
"Sin no more." There is not the least possible 
justification of sin, nor any toleration of it in 
a free pardon. The central idea is the getting 
rid of sin. And this forgiveness is not only a 
wiping out of all past sin and guilt, but it be- 
comes also a positive preventive of sin in the 
future. And here must come in all the active 
powers of the soul to fulfill this requirement. 
Go and sin no more means a complete refor- 
mation of the life and character. And when 
there is this, the offender is entitled to com- 
plete restoration to confidence and fellowship. 
Mercy, pardon, and "sin no more" are stupend- 
ous ideas in redemption. The first originates 
the plan. The second carries it out in its appli- 
cation to man. The third prevents the further 
spread and growth of the disease. 

Look once more at this remarkable incident, 
and see the demonstration of another principle 
and the condemnation of another unjust and 
sinful custom. Society at once spews out the 



152 THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 

unfortunate and guilty female, whether she 
has fallen by her own evil propensity or was 
dragged to ruin by a stronger hand. Public 
sentiment turns against her and she is merci- 
lessly kicked out as though she were the only 
guilty party, while guilty men — usually the 
greater sinners — are permitted to enjoy all the 
privileges of society and are even respected. 
How many treacherous brutes walk our streets 
and visit our sisters and daughters with all the 
appearance of refined gentlemen, while inward- 
ly they are so rotten that the vultures of hell 
turn away in disgust. Why should this be so, 
while the female wretches, the victims of these 
very men, are utterly rejected without even a 
hearing, and without a possibility of restora- 
tion? Does Christ in this case, which is ideal 
and universal in its application, make any dis- 
tinction between the guilt of the male and the 
female? Is the shame any less on one than on 
the other? By his actions in this trial it 
would seem that Christ was more lenient with 
the woman than with the men. Oh, that God 



THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 153 

would speed the day when guilty men will be 
stoned as severely and as promptly as guilty 
women, not by mob law, but by public senti- 
ment and by the courts of justice that claim to 
enforce the laws, to punish sin and to protect 
the weak. 

This nameless woman has become an ever- 
lasting monument of divine grace. And she 
stands as an exponent of Christ's own inter- 
pretation and application of the divine law. 
Here is a remarkable defeat of Christ's ene- 
mies in their attempt to convict him, and a 
triumph over malice and hypocrisy. What a 
difference between the assembling and the 
breaking up of this court. The accusing men 
go away in shame and condemnation, while the 
woman, pardoned and reformed, goes away 
filled with peace and joy, and Christ, for 
whose blood the mob was thirsting, is victo- 
rious and safe. Is this woman, sinful and dis- 
graced, one of the blood- washed and redeemed? 
Is divine grace sufficient to lift one from so 
low and so degraded a condition and place her 



154 THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 

at the right hand of God? How forcible is the 
language of Christ when he says that publi- 
cans and sinners will go into the kingdom of 
God while the Scribes and Pharisees will be 
left out. There will be many surprises in * 
heaven. 



THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 155 



CHAPTER VII. 

THE POWER OF IMPORTUNITY. 

•• 'Twas thus a widow poor, 
Without support or friend, 
Beset the unjust judge's door, 
And gained, at last, her end. 

" And shall not Jesus hear 
His chosen when they cry? 
Yes, though he may awhile forbear, 
He'll help them from on high." 

—John Newton. 

Once more there is a widow. How often this 
class figures in the life of Christ, either in 
actual contact with him, or as used by him to 
illustrate and enforce truth. This time she is 
not one that comes to Christ himself for bless- 
ing; and she is not one of those with whom 
he actually met. She appears as an important 
and prominent character in a beautiful and 
striking illustration, setting forth the relation 
of the believer to God. 

There is a reason why the divine Artist uses 



156 THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 

a widow as the central figure rather than any 
other person. A widow alone fulfills all the 
requirements of a perfect illustration. There 
is no other person just as appealing as a widow 
in all the relations of life. In a sense she is 
the weakest of the weak, and the most helpless 
of the dependent. And, while she is an object 
of pity and deserves the sympathies of all, she 
is more imposed upon than any other class of 
persons. 

But perhaps she is nowhere at a greater dis- 
advantage than in matters of law. When 
she falls into the hands of the court, or goes 
to the law for redress, she has usually not 
much in her favor. If she is so fortunate as to 
have possessions, they are in danger of being 
devoured by unscrupulous lawyers. If she has 
no money she can hardly hope to obtain a re- 
spectable hearing. Nothing on earth is as un- 
promising as a poor widow's case in the hands 
of irresponsible, unscrupulous barristers. 

Such is precisely the case in the picture be- 
fore us. It is an extreme case. The characters 
are so selected that the logic of the pictorial 



THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 157 

lesson is of the strongest and clearest form. 
The characters are very striking, and the per- 
sonages exceedingly remarkable. There appear 
the very extremity of depraved humanity, the 
highest conception of benign divinity, and the 
most humble and helpless petitioner. These 
extreme characters are chosen and required by 
the divine Teacher to solve the problem in 
hand, to form the logic necessary, and to con- 
firm the truth intended. 

We have already seen something of the 
widow — the suppliant in the case. The next 
personage that demands our attention is the 
judge to whom the widow comes for redress. 
"There was in a certain city a judge," says 
Christ, "and there was also a widow in that 
city, and she came to the judge and asked him 
to avenge her of her adversary." This judge 
as described by Christ, is worthy of most care- 
ful study. Looking at him we see a hypocriti- 
cally grave looking man, one who has some- 
what the aspect of a judge indeed. The judge 
is just at the other extreme from the widow — 
independent, with an air of indifference. But 



158 THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 

the character of this judge is an important ele- 
ment in this picture. And this character as 
described by Christ is the most remarkable, the 
meanest in all history. Not one word could 
be added that could darken the character of 
this man a single shade, vet only a few words 
were used by Christ in describing him, but 
these words are to the point. 

First — It is said of this judge that he "feared 
not God." He was a totally godless man. He 
was totally devoid of a conscience, and had no 
sense of responsibility to any higher power. 
He was a complete outlaw in the divine gov- 
ernment. Hence, no appeal could be made to 
him. His oath was nothing. He knew no 
power higher than himself. He was a law unto 
himself, and his own god. 

Second — He had no regard for man. He had 
no sympathy, nothing by which he could be 
touched by his fellow man. He was outside 
the whole range of humanity. He had no 
superior nor equal, according to his own esti- 
mate of himself. Put together these two char- 
acteristics — no fear of God, and no regard for 



THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 159 

man — and we have the meanest possible char- 
acter. Yet such was the one to whom this u 
widow came for assistance. What could she 
expect? In her disposition, in her feelings, in 
her ideas of life and in her judgments of right 
and wrong, she was infinitely removed from the 
judge, the man from whom she sought justice. 
Considering the character of the judge and the 
nature of the case presented to him by the 
widow, it was hardly possible that she could 
even hope for any favors. The only avenue to 
his heart — if he possessed such an organ — was 
through his own selfishness. If it could be so 
arranged that in any way his selfish purposes 
could be accommodated by granting the wid- 
ow's request, he would most certainly do so. 
But aside from selfishness there was absolute- 
ly no appeal. The bringing together of these 
two characters reduces to an absolute mini- 
mum the probabilities of any favorable inter- 
vention on the part of the judge. Perhaps 
nothing would so utterly disgust this judge as 
a poor, helpless widow with some petty com- 
plaint against an unkind, imposing neighbor. 



1G0 THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 

She was very far beneath his notice, and her 
business affairs in no sense worthy of his dig- 
nity. But nothing so effectually closed the 
door against her as the character of the man. 
AVere he a man of principle or heart or con- 
science, she might at least hope for the right 
thing. Yet with all these things against her, 
she not only went bravely on, but she obtained 
the desired favor, simply on the ground that 
the judge feared he might be worried by her 
repeated coming. 

Christ takes this extreme case — and yet per- 
haps not an unusual occurrence in that coun- 
try — to encourage believers in coming to God 
for help and blessings. To do this with the 
best possible effect, he introduces a third party, 
and then a fourth — God, and God's own chosen 
people. God is over against the unjust judge, 
and God's chosen and specially beloved are 
put over against the widow. Now, says 
Christ, if that unjust judge granted the wid- 
ow's request, will not God hear his own when 
they call on him? Here the argument is stated 
and the form of the logic is given. Now it will 



THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 161 

be readily seen that the whole force of the 
argument — the point of the lesson — is in the 
contrasts between the persons represented. Be- 
tween the unjust judge and God on the one 
hand, and between the widow and God's cho- 
sen ones on the other hand. These contrasts 
are, in both cases, as great as can be made. 
The unjust judge is the very personification of 
depraved humanity, from whom absolutely 
nothing favorable can be expected. Selfishness 
is the one law of his being and all his actions. 
On the other hand is God, the personification 
of ail that is good and merciful and kind. The 
being of God is the very climax of infinite per- 
fection, and the law of his actions is the sum 
total of mercy and benevolence. Now, if this 
judge, a man of such character, will grant to 
the most unwelcome suppliant her request 
simply on the ground of his own selfishness, 
will not God, the law of whose actions is 
mercy, grant the requests of those whom he 
loves best, whom he has chosen to be his own 
favored ones, those whom he has bidden to 

come and ask, and to whom he has made every 
11 



162 THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 

form of promise? Will lie not hear these when 
they cry to him in their distress? 

Only one answer is possible to this question . 
which Christ himself asks. The logic is abso- 1 
lutely conclusive and invincible. A negative 
conclusion is not even thinkable. The opposite 
characters of the two personages here makes 
the conclusion absolutely in favor of the be- 
liever. We do not see how the argument could 
be strengthened nor the conclusion made more 
favorable to the Christian. Then Christ's own 
strong assertion, "I tell you he will hear them 
speedily," gives additional assurance. 

But this is only half the argument. There is 
another contrast that is equally as great, and 
quite as favorable to the believer as the one 
already considered. This contrast is between 
the widow coming to the unjust judge, on the 
one hand, and the Christian coming to God, on 
the other hand. As everything is unfavorable 
to the widow in her coming with her petition 
to the unjust judge — unfavorable to the ut- 
most degree — so everything is favorable to the 
believer in coming to God — favorable in every 



THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 163 

particular. Nothing could be added to make 
the one case more hopeless nor the other more 
favorable. 

Note some of the points of contrast between 
the widow and the believer. These will show 
the magnitude of Christ's argument and the 
force and beauty of the illustration: 

1. The first contrast is in the coming. The 
widow in coming had no one to plead her 
cause for her before the judge. She must de- 
pend upon herself alone. She is her own law- 
yer, her own witness. She is totally ignorant of 
every legal process or business. In her ignor- 
ance she must go and make the best of it. All 
this in the presence of this unjust judge only 
enhanced her embarrassment and her dif- 
ficulties. She must plead her own case as best 
she can. On the other hand, the believer in 
coming to God assumes quite a different atti- 
tude. He does not come in his own name, nor 
plead his own case. God has provided for the 
believer a name that is all prevailing; an in- 
tercessor whom God himself has pledged al- 
ways to hear in behalf of the Christian. The 



164 THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 

believer has Christ to present his petitions be- 
fore God and to intercede for him. Even when 
the believer is so weak and unworthy that he 
cannot present his case rightly before God, the 
divine Advocate pleads with unutterable ten- 
derness and sympathy. The court of heaven 
has appointed Christ as our Advocate, not to 
condemn us, not to search out objections, but 
to plead our cause, so as to make it as favor- 
able as possible for us. What a wretched farce 
was the court into which the widow went, 
nameless and unrepresented, to claim her legal 
rights at the hands of a godless wretch who 
was acting the part of a judge of the law. 
What a magnificent spectacle, on the other 
hand, when we see the believer approaching — 
not the seat of judgment, but the throne of 
grace, surmounted by the Judge of all the 
earth who can but do the right — and the be- 
liever supported in his claims by the all-pre- 
vailing Son of God, the advocate and inter- 
cessor, who, in his appeal, challenges the very 
name of the judge, for whose glory alone the 
claim is made. The contrast is infinite. All 



THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 165 

is in favor of the believer. In the case of the 
widow there is nothing but the feeble plea of 
an unknown, inexperienced woman. In the 
case of the Christian the very name is linked 
with that of the Son of God, and is recorded in 
the Lamb's Book of Life. 

2. There is another respect in which there 
is a very marked contrast between the widow 
in coming to the judge and the believer coming 
to Christ. The judge had absolutely no in- 
terest in the affairs of the widow. It was of no 
consequence to him what were the issues in- 
volved. There was no money consideration in 
the case, and, having no regard for man, it is 
scarcely possible that he was interested in the 
general welfare of the widow. So she could 
make no appeal to him on that ground. The 
personal interests of the widow and those of 
the judge were as far removed as could be con- 
ceived. Is it so with the believer when he 
comes to God with his petitions? Judging 
from the actions and progress of many Christ- 
ians it would seem that they really think God 
has no interest in them in any sense. There 



166 THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 

are, however, two things we must consider as 
opposed to this idea. 

First — God is certainly interested in the be- 
liever personally, in every one regardless of 
their obscurity, their position in life or mone- 
tary standing. God cares in the kindliest man- 
ner for all his followers. This is abundantly 
demonstrated by what he has done in our sal- 
vation. Grace is only another word for true 
and whole-hearted interest in men, and es- 
pecially those whom we love. God is more in- 
terested in us than we are in ourselves — more 
than we can be — in behalf of both our souls 
and our bodies. Our daily bread and even the 
very hairs of our head are cared for by him, 
according to Christ's teachings. 

Second — God has the greatest possible in- 
terest in the work in which believers are en- 
gaged, especially if we are faithfully serving 
him. It is all only his own work, and the work 
in which he has manifested the greatest pos- 
sible interest, and for which he has made the 
greatest sacrifice. Hence, when the believer 
goes to God in prayer concerning any part of 



THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 167 

the great work to be accomplished by the 
church on earth, it is only asking God to bless 
his own interests, to advance his own kingdom 
on earth. However much we may be person- 
ally interested in the welfare of the church 
and the salvation of souls, God is still more 
concerned. 

3. A third contrast between the widow and 
the believer is in the relationship sustained 
by the clients to their respective advocates — 
the widow to the judge, and the believer to 
God. Had the widow been connected with the 
judge or related to him in any way whatever, 
she might have approached him with some 
assurance of obtaining favor. But she was in 
every respect a stranger. No blood kin and 
no marriage relation existed, nor even the 
slightest personal acquaintance. Hence she 
was as far removed as possible from the one 
to whom she looked for relief. 

How different it is on the part of the be- 
liever. He is not only not a stranger to God, 
but the closest possible relationship exists 
between him and God. God is the believer's 



1G8 THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 

Father in the truest and highest sense, while 
God ever speaks of him as his son in the most 
affectionate and peculiar manner. Jesus Christ 
the Christian's advocate is only an elder broth- 
er. So the believer comes to God his Father 
through Christ his own brother. This fact 
makes it a moral impossibility for the believer 
to fail in obtaining the desired favors. While 
on the part of the widow it is practically a 
moral impossibility for her to win her case. 

From this series of contrasts between God 
and the unjust judge, and between the be- 
liever and the widow the full force of the 
argument appears. The argument is of the 
strongest logical form, from the less to the 
greater, or, rather, from the least to the great- 
est. Only one conclusion is morally and logi- 
cally possible. If the unjust judge will grant 
the request of the widow is it not certain that 
God will hear his own when they cry to him? 
If the worst man will do that which is most . 
unlikely and most against his own inclination, 
will not the best and most benevolent Being do 
that which is most in the line of his work and 



THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 1G9 

character, and which lies nearest to his heart? 
Add to these considerations all the promises 
God has made to the believer and the numerous 
invitations to come with all the cares and 
troubles of life, and the illustration becomes 
still more striking and the argument more 
forcible and conclusive. The widow had not 
the shadow of a promise for anything except 
to be rejected. For the believer there is every 
conceivable form of promise and the removal 
of all difficulties that may come up. 

But what can there be in the conduct of 
this nameless woman for each one of us? 
Aside from the argument already developed, 
there must be something in the woman herself 
worthy of consideration. Like some of the 
other nameless immortals, there is something 
in her own actions that makes her an example 
for believers, otherwise Christ would not have 
placed her in this remarkable group. From 
Christ's words we find there was something 
in this woman herself that gave her the vic- 
tory, and that same principle is essential to 
the success of every believer. 



170 THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 

1. The widow went — in the face of every 
disadvantage and discouragement. She still 
went to the judge with her case. She did not 
faint nor give up. It would have been very 
easy for her just to abandon all effort and be- 
come submerged with the moral weaklings. 
How many faint-hearted Christians there are 
in the church. In spite of all the provisions 
God has made, and the numerous promises in 
his word, there are still so many that say, "It is 
of no use." Christians will not even go to God, 
they will not even go to God's house and use 
the means that God has provided. The wonder 
is not that the church does not progress more 
rapidly in the conquest of the world, but that 
she lives at all. No other enterprise on earth 
could exist, much less prosper, with as little 
effort and as much faint-heartedness as there 
is in the church of Jesus Christ. 

2. This widow had in her heart a fixed deter- 
mination not to fail in her purpose. Not to be 
repulsed by the judge, however unfavorable he 
might be to her case. A fixed determination 
to succeed is nine-tenths of the battle. Things 



THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 171 

won without requiring determination to obtain 
them are usually worth but little. The will 
power, the strong desire form the backbone of 
true character, are the secret of success. Pray 
and not faint — continue without the least 
thought of yielding. How this characteristic 
manifested itself in the conduct of this widow. 

3. This determined purpose gave her strength 
for the struggle — for her repeated coming, to 
ask and ask again. It was exceedingly trying 
and humiliating to be treated as she was by 
the judge. But as he had no regard for man, 
utterly devoid of principle, her only policy 
could be to wear out his patience, so that it 
would become a matter of self-defense for him 
to grant her request — to literally wear him 
out. This required all the energy of her being. 
At last the question with him was how to 
get rid of her. And the easiest way was to 
grant her request. 

4. This widow certainly realized a sense 
of utter dependence upon the judge. There 
was no one else to whom she could go for help. 
She must have relief in some way. But she 



172 THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 

was dependent upon this man and this means 
alone, and she must prevail. 

All of these characteristics are essential to 
the life and work of the believer, yet how little 
are these graces and principles developed, and 
how weak and unaggressive is the church. 

One other important thought is expressed 
by Christ in this illustration that solves some 
of the greatest difficulties on the part of 
Christians coming to God for blessings. Why 
does God tarry so long? Christ says he will 
hear, though he may tarry long with them. It 
is this tarrying that so often confuses and dis- 
courages the Christian in his work. And how 
can it be "true that God will hear speedily, and 
yet tarry long? To hear speedily does not 
mean to hear and answer immediately. Even 
speed may require time to accomplish the 
work. He bears long with them, not because 
he is unwilling to grant the blessing sought, 
but in order to test the metal of the client, and 
to develop true character and manliness. 
Sometimes it requires a long continued process 
to bring the believer to the point when it is 



THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 173 

even proper and safe to grant the blessing 
sought. But that point once reached, the bless- 
ing will not tarry — it then comes speedily. The 
long-bearing is that which prepares the soul 
for the coming issue. It intensifies the desire, 
strengthens determination, and intensifies 
every effort of the soul, and brings it to the 
true realization of helplessness. So it may be 
that the struggle in obtaining is a greater 
blessing in the end than the thing sought. In 
this struggle there is developed the egoistic 
idea so important in the true character — the 
idea that I must accomplish it. The personal- 
ity and feeling of responsibility in all the af- 
fairs of life. The widow had no one to do for 
her. But this only made her stronger and more 
self-reliant. 

The giant thoughts in this beautiful illus- 
tration are plainly these: 

1. The contrasts already developed, culmi- 
nating in the expression of Christ: "If the 
unjust judge will hear, will not God?" 

2. The absolute assertion of Christ: "I tell 
you he will hear his own when they cry." 



174 THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 

3. The continued, uncompromising, impor- 
tunity of the widow — "her continual coming.'' 

4. The comforting explanation to the weary 
struggling — "Though he bear long with them." 

This nameless woman has become one of 
the brightest stars in the constellation. She 
demonstrates to the Christian how the richest 
prizes are won, and to the church how her most 
brilliant victories are to be achieved. Though 
nameless here, she wears the victor's crown, 
and has written upon her Christ's new name, 
and has received the white stone with the name 
engraven on it which no one knows but the one 
who receives it. 



THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 175 



CHAPTER VIII. 

THE WIDOW'S JOY. 

" Jesus drew near to Nain, as from the gate 
The funeral came forth. * * * 
'Weep not/ he said. Then, taking the cold hand, 
He said, 'Arise!' And instantly the breast 
Heaved in its cerements, and a sudden flush 
Ran through the lines of the divided lips, 
And, with a murmur of his mother's name, 
He trembled and sat upright in his shroud." 

— N. P. Willis. 

One day ago the great Wonder Worker 
was twenty miles to the northeast at Caper- 
naum at the northwest upper end of the sea of 
Galilee. Capernaum appears to have been the 
home of the mother of Jesus and her family 
from about the time of the marriage in Cana 
in Galilee. Hence Christ was frequently there, 
and taught much in their synagogue and 
wrought many miracles. Consequently Caper- 
naum was more highly favored in this way 
than any town in Galilee. 



176 THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 

Upon this occasion he healed the Roman 
Centurion's servant, a miracle illustrating the 
remarkable faith of the Centurion. Some time 
in the afternoon of this day he left Caper- 
naum going in a southwestern direction 
through the hill country of Galilee towards 
Endor, immortalized as the home of the witch 
to whom King Saul resorted in his distress 
the night before his disgraceful and tragic 
death. 

They pass by Endor and onward to "Little 
Hermon," a few miles to the southwest, in 
the northeast corner of which is the little 
town of Nam, made famous by the resurrec- 
tion of the widow's son. Nain was then a town 
of considerable importance. Located on the 
end of Hermon it could be seen for many miles 
around, and so was really a "city set on a hill 
that could not be hid," and this eventful visit 
of Christ has indeed made it a city that cannot 
be hid even from the most distant corners of 
the earth — wherever is told the sweet old story 
of Jesus. Nain is now scarcely more than a 
cluster of ruins, but still enough remains to 



THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 177 

mark the place of the ancient city. The only 
inhabitants are a few families of Moslems. 
East of the town are many ancient tombs, 
some of which doubtless antedate by many 
centuries the time of Christ. It was no doubt 
in the direction of this necropolis that the 
funeral procession was moving when Christ 
and his disciples met them just outside the 
city gate. 

Christ's little band were just in time to meet 
the solemnly moving train as it was going to 
the burying grounds. The procession was 
large, but without style and pomp, for it was 
the only son of a widow, presumably very 
poor. The body was being carried to the tomb, 
followed by the widowed mother and a large 
concourse of sympathizing friends. What is 
more pathetic than the home of a widow — a 
home bereft of its head and its support ; where 
the most sacred tie has been severed by the 
scythe of cruel death, where the heartstrings 
have been broken, and the fondest hopes 
blasted. Mourning and bereavement have 

taken the place of cheer and comfort. The 

12 



178 THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 

cheerful wife has become a sorrowful widow. 
The long veil now hides the once sunny, smil- 
ing face, and the bright eye is dimmed with 
bitterest tears. What all this really means no 
one may ever know save those in whose homes 
it becomes a sad reality — a personal experi- 
ence. To them it means infinitely more than 
words can ever express. But happy is even 
that widow who has a son — a son indeed on 
whom may fall at least some of the burdens 
and responsibilities of the departed father. 
Alas, how many sons are not sons indeed, 
only by birth. And instead of being the sup- 
port of the mother and the source of her com- 
fort, they bring nothing but constant worry. 
There was in this home a son, an only son, 
and presumably an only child, and, judging 
from the large number that were following 
in the luneral procession, he was an honored 
young man — one who was indeed a son to his 
mother. As the father was no more, the cords 
of the mother's love had fastened more closely 
around his heart. And as he became the sup- 
port of the little family of two, the fond 



THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 179 

mother felt more and more her dependence on 
him, and that in some measure he was able 
to take the place of the father. The broken 
heart of the bereft mother was partially 
healed by the devoted and faithful son, and 
once more they had a comfortable support. 
The son loves the mother only the more as 
he feels that he is her only support, and the 
mother has learned as never before the real 
value of a noble son. To cheer and encourage 
him she hid and choked her grief until some 
of the sweetness of her former smiles returned 
to her face. 

But alas, dire disease again .enters the quiet 
little home, and this time the son is pros- 
trated. Stalwart and healthy he seemed to 
defy disease. But day by day it fastens more 
firmly its hold upon his vitals, and ere long 
he is prostrated to rise no more. Death again 
knocks at the door, this time to claim the only 
son. Is not the demand even more cruel than 
before? The mother and son had just recov- 
ered sufficiently from the former stroke to 
catch a breath of life. But the unrelenting 



180 THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 

monster turns not aside, nor lingers in accom- 
plishing his purpose. When once his icy clutch 
has throttled his victim the struggle soon 
ends. Let him once lay his cold hand on the 
warm, beating heart and very soon the life- 
flow is clogged and the pulse decreases and 
stops. Thus he stalked boldly into the widow's 
home. 

The worst has come and the stout son is 
dead. The dark pall settles there once more, 
and thicker and lower than before, and seem- 
ingly nevermore to be lifted. Kind friends 
prepare the body for the burial, while the child- 
less, widowed mother sobs in the bitterness 
of despair. The last ray of hope vanished in 
the death of her child, and for her the sun has 
set never again to rise. Comfort under this 
double affliction is impossible and her grief 
knows no bound. The time has come when the 
body must be removed and laid in its last rest- 
ing place. 

The funeral procession leaves the little 
home, now a solitary vacant house. Just 
around the foot of Little Hermon, on the road 



THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 181 

towards Endor' about half a mile distant, we 
see another procession moving towards the 
town. The bier is gently carried through the 
little town while the weeping mother follows 
close behind. The hearts of the stoutest are 
touched, and eyes that had forgotten how 
to weep were jeweled with sympathetic tears 
as the widow's son was borne out. How many 
others could have been better spared from the 
community, and none would have been so much 
missed at his home. 

Quietly they pass through, and a large con- 
course of people fall in line before they reach 
the eastern gate leading to the burying 
grounds. They have just passed out through 
the gate of the city and behold! they meet 
the other procession advancing towards the 
gate. Apparently they have come a consider- 
able distance on foot. The leader of this little 
band may possibly be recognized by some who 
were going out from the city. He may have 
visited there before in his journeys through 
Galilee, but this visit only for certain pur- 
poses is recorded; or he may have been a 



182 THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 

stranger to them. It is, however, morally cer- 
tain that they had heard of the wonder-work- 
ings of Christ, for his fame had gone out 
through all the region round about. Whether 
there was in the mind of Christ or elsewhere 
any previous arrangement for this meeting 
we may not even conjecture. 

At all events Christ instantly took in the 
situation. He saw that it was a funeral pro- 
cession, and from the appearance of those that 
followed closest the bier, he could easily un- 
derstand that one — a lone woman — was the 
chief mourner — she was a widow. His heart 
was instantly moved with compassion. Could 
it have been otherwise with him who came to 
bind up the broken hearted and bring joy 
where there is the bitterness of sorrow? What 
an infinitude of comfort and blessing there is 
in the compassion of Jesus. It is not a mean- 
ingless, intangible sympathy, but it is a com- 
passion that materializes in actual blessings 
for the sufferer. This compassion is the mo- 
tive power in bestowing all the benefits of 
redemption — temporal and spiritual. What 



THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 183 

would the world do were it not for the mercy, 
the compassion of Jesus? 

As the two processions meet there is a pause. 
Jesus is the first to speak, and his words 
were addressed to the heartbroken mother. 
To comfort her was his first purpose. But 
was not this strange language to one who could 
but weep, for whom there was no comfort? 
But was there not the expression of hope and 
promise in the very tones of his voice as he 
spoke these words to the disconsolate mother? 
It is not the stoic comfort he would give, but 
the comfort based on the assurance of im- 
mediate relief. He speaks only a word. There 
is no explanation, no argument. There never 
should be when Christ speaks. Much of the 
comfort of Christ's teaching is lost by explain- 
ing and arguing and doubting. Simply rest 
on his word, there is the comfort. There was 
here no delay; he spoke the word of comfort 
to the mother, and immediately advanced to 
the bier where was the body of the young 
man. 

The pall-bearers stop as he approaches. 



184 THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 

Tliere is no command, a sign is enough. In- 
stantly all becomes quiet as death itself. What 
is going to take place? Hearts beat faster and 
bosoms heave with anxious expectation. The 
mother's sobs are smothered in obedience to 
the Savior's gentle words. What a moment 
this must have been to the mother; what a 
struggle in her heart. But it was of short 
duration. He gently touches the bier, and 
when all has become quiet, he utters the resur- 
rection words: "Young man, I say unto thee, 
arise." 

Strange language to deaf ears, a singular 
command to a lifeless body! But these words 
carry in them all the power and authority of 
the Creator who spake and it was done, who 
commanded and it stood fast. Grim death at 
once slackened his grip and released his prey, 
and the soul is re-embodied and the body 
quickened. All in a moment, in the catching 
of a breath, and the young man is alive again, 
and in the full possession of all his mental 
and physical powers. He immediately sat up 
and began to speak. 



THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 185 

The resurrection words are worthy of special 
note. The egoistic personality appears. "I 
say unto thee." There was no appeal to any 
higher power. In the speaker was vested all 
the power and authority to raise the dead. In 
this particular the miracles of Christ differ 
from those performed by his disciples and 
others, they wrought not in their own name 
nor by their own power, but only in the name 
of Christ, Christ works in his own name and 
by his own power. 

What were the first words of the resurrected 
young man, the record does not show. Imagine 
the thrill that must have gone through the 
lookers-on when they saw the dead body move, 
the breast heave, the eyes open, and the body 
rising to a sitting posture, and then the lips 
begin to move in the utterance of words. With 
another strain of the imagination try to gain 
some faint idea of the anxiety of the mother 
at the moment when the pall bearers halted, 
through the moments of painful silence as the 
Savior touched the bier— the divine hand so 
near her beloved dead. Was there not already 



186 THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 

a beam of hope? Was there not mingled fear 
and joy as she heard the resurrection com- 
mand from the lips of the Son of God, and then 
the bewildering ecstasy of joy when she heard 
the familiar voice of her son speaking, full of 
life and love — that voice which but yesterday 
was hopelessly hushed in death? Could she 
realize, or even believe all this? Are not her 
ears mistaken and her tear-bedimmed eyes 
seeing a vision? 

But the work is accomplished beyond all 
possibility of dispute or deception. There is 
the living, breathing body which all may see, 
and there is the audible voice speaking intelli- 
gently words which all may hear. The divine 
Healer gently draws the astonished mother 
close to the bier and presents her son alive 
again. It is almost more than she can yet 
believe. But the sitting posture, the luster 
in the eye, the face so well known in every 
feature, the familiar voice with all its tender- 
ness and accents quickly dispel all doubts. Her 
joy is ineffably full and her tears flow afresh, 
but this time it is the tear of joy and gratitude. 



THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 187 

The glory of heaven is rainbowed in each tear 
gem as she feels the heart of her son throbbing 
with new life, and sees the spark restored to 
the once glazed eye, and hears joyous words 
from the lips which but an hour ago were cold 
as marble and on which was imprinted the long 
farewell kiss. The rose tint is returning to the 
cheek, and the familiar smile of recognition 
plays sweetly upon his face. The surrounding 
crowd look on in profound astonishment. A 
strange feeling of awe and fear fills their souls 
as they see this wonderful manifestation of 
divine power. It was never so seen before, 
and the fame rapidly spreads through all the 
region round about. But let us turn again for 
a moment to the scene of the miracle at the 
gate of Nain. 

The wondering and rejoicing multitude 
eagerly look on as the young man descends 
from the bier, and with his overjoyed mother 
leads the procession back into the city, not 
with heads bowed in sorrow and grief, but 
with shouts of rejoicing and praise to God. 
It is no longer a funeral train, but a triumphal 



188 THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 

resurrection march, such as had never been 
witnessed in all the strange episodes in human 
history. The mother returns to her home not 
all alone as she had pictured to her mind but 
an hour ago when the dead body of her son 
was carried out. But she is supremely happy 
in the embrace of him in whose death her last 
hope had vanished. 

Home again together, alive and well. What 
an evening that must have been to the mother 
and son; an experience of which we can form 
but little conception. Imagine how the fond 
mother prepared a savory meal — such as a 
mother alone can prepare — for her now doubly 
prized and thrice loved son, restored to her 
bosom from the cold embrace of death. Did 
mother ever prepare a supper with so thankful 
a heart, with love that so heaved the bosom 
and tingled to the fingers' ends? As they sat 
around their little board that evening, were 
hearts ever more thankful or faces abeam with 
brighter joy? How sweetly the evening passed 
away. How this remarkable event endeared 
mother and son as never before. Life was be- 



THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 189 

gun anew on a higher plane and with new and 
nobler conceptions of God and of humanity. 
This experience was worth all of life to them. 
Here was a vision of God such as they will not 
have again until the glorious resurrection j 
morning when not only this young man, but all 
of God's redeemed, shall hear the voice of the 
Son of God, and "come forth." What an 
earnest this of that other and greater resur- 
rection day ! What a proof that Jesus the Son 
of Man has absolute power, even over death 
and all its terrors. Here is one ray of the 
divine glory that penetrates the shadow of 
death. 

How will it be on that glorious morning 
when the brightness of the coming Redeemer 
shall appear and the shadow of death shall 
roll away like the sable robe of night before 
the rising sun? There will be present not only 
a mother and a funeral procession to see the 
climactic miracle of the resurrection, but all 
humanity will hear and see and feel the thrill 
of new life. 

This little family— the widow and her son 



190 THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 

— were living as it were in a new realm. But 
the transition to this higher plane was through 
an exceedingly dark valley and a heart-rending 
trial. This is usually the case. Christ passed 
through Gethsemane to the cross, and from the 
cross through the tomb before he ascended 
in glory to the right hand of God. So for us 
the road upwards is often through the dark 
and gloomy shadows through which the strong 
hand of Christ alone can safely pilot us. But 
he always leads us up higher. Through the 
valley we scale the sunlit mountain beyond. 
How Christ changed this little home from the 
blackness of darkness and sorrow to light and 
joy. What a joy to the mother's heart and 
what an experience to the young man. But 
the power of this miracle is not exhausted in 
its performance. Here are rich blessings and 
beautiful lessons for all of us. 

1. Christ meets all of us as we pass on in the 
journey of life. Often when the last hope has 
just vanished and we are ready to give up in 
utter despair, he appears in some form to us 
for our relief. Let us ever remember that 



THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 191 

Christ need not stand before us in his incar- 
nate human form in order to meet us. He 
reveals himself in many ways, and operates 
through various means, but it is none the 
less Christ. When he sent forth his dis- 
ciples to preach and to heal he said to them: 
"He that heareth you heareth me — he that 
receiveth you receiveth me — he that reject eth 
you rejecteth me." He meets us in his provi- 
dence in our everyday lives. He meets us in 
our intercourse with our fellow men. He 
meets us in the quiet hour when we are all 
alone. And especially does he meet us when 
we are in our Gethsemanes of sorrow and 
trial. Perhaps the greatest difficulty with us 
is to recognize him when we meet him. We 
would rather believe it to be anyone else than 
Christ. How hard it is to recognize Christ 
when we are discouraged and cast down, and 
just in the act of burying our last hope. But 
just then Christ is most likely to appear. 
God appeared to Abraham when he was just 
in the act of slaying his son — his only hope. 
2. To each one of us Christ will sav as he 



192 THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 

did to the sorrowful widow — "Weep not." 
And these w T ords have for us the same prom- 
ise and hope as they were intended to convey 
to the heart of the widow. He has come to 
bind up the broken-hearted — are we broken- 
hearted? He has come to give joy for sorrow 
— does this include our sorrowful hearts? 
When in sorrow and trial, let us attentively 
listen for the comforting words of Christ. 
He is nearer than we may think. 

3. Christ will do for all homes just what 
he did for this little home. He will give back 
the young men from sin and death. Oh, how 
many homes are sad, not because the young 
men — the sons — have been carried through 
the gate to the burying grounds, but because 
they are under the dominion of sin and vice, 
and are on the way to ruin and death. How 
many mothers' hearts are broken because their 
sons are lost beyond all human hope, but the 
saving power of Christ. How many are re- 
stored while the mothers follow with their 
tears and prayers. 

4. Christ will give joy to all homes as he 



THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 193 

did to the home of the widow. Is there any 
home as happy as the home where every son 
has been brought back alive and well? As 
the dewdrop reflects the starry firmament, 
so these homes are miniature heavens. Christ 
ever and anon comes our way, passes our gates 
and would gladly enter our homes to bring 
joy and blessings. 

5. How common, and yet how important are 
the two classes represented in this picture — 
the widows and the sons. Every village has 
its widows, and almost every home has its 
young men. The widows are the weakest, 
and most helpless and dependent; the young 
men are the strongest and most hopeful. They 
are the strength and power of our nation. 
What is Christ to our young men, and what 
are our young men without Christ? Only as 
they have heard the quickening voice of the 
Son of God and experienced the thrill of the 
new life can they truly fill their great mis- 
sion, whether it be in the home or in the great 
affairs of the nation, of society and of the 

church. 

13 



194 THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 

The poor widow of Nain is nameless here 
forever. She is remembered only by her once 
coming in touch with Christ. And not only 
is she immortalized, but the little town, on 
the slope of Hermon will be sacred in the 
memories of all who love the story of Jesus. 
We are glad there was a widow in Nain and 
that she had a son. 



THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 195 



CHAPTER IX. 

THE WIDOW'S MITE— OR THE WEIGHT OF A 
FARTHING. 

" Two mites, two drops, yet all her house and land, 
Fall from a steady heart, though trembling hand. 
The other's wanton wealth foams high and brave; 
The other cast away, — she only gave." 

— Richard Crasham. 

The life and labors of the blessed Son of 
God on earth were almost at an end. This 
was the last week of his ministry before his 
crucifixion. It was the last day of his min- 
istry, and this afternoon was his last visit 
to the temple in Jerusalem, and there late 
in the even he delivered his last sermon. This 
was a most searching and powerful address, 
in which he stoutly and unsparingly con- 
demned the Scribes and Pharisees and unbe- 
lievers in general. 

His enemies had all day been on a sharp 
lookout for some clue to his accusation and 
arrest. Every word as it fell from his lips 



196 THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 

was criticised and twisted so as to pervert it 
if possible. They were intent upon his life by 
any means whatever. Justice had already 
suffered crucifixion at their hands, and mercy 
was to them an unknown virtue. Envy ruled 
supreme in their hearts, and hatred armed 
with cruelty was eager to nail the Son of 
God to the cross. 

This day the traitor Judas had made the 
bargain for thirty pieces of silver to betray 
the Christ into the hands of his enemies. 
Avarice becomes the handmaiden to envy to 
accomplish her hellish purpose. In the even- 
ing of this day as Christ was leaving the 
temple for the last time forever, as he still 
stood on the steps of the porch and looked 
out over the city, he stretched forth his hands 
and wept, and uttered those inimitably sweet 
and pathetic, and yet awfully solemn words: 
"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, how often would I 
have gathered thy children together even as 
a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, 
and ye would not." This was the pronouncing 
of the final doom, the farewell malediction on 



THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 197 

that godforsaken city. Nothing now remained 
but impending doom. The judgment was fixed 
and the death sentence pronounced. 

As Christ and his disciples were going out 
toward Bethany immediately after leaving the 
temple, they sat on the slope of the Mount of 
Olives and he foretold the approaching and 
final ruin of the then magnificent city. The 
sun was just then setting over the western 
hills of Judea and his last rays imprinted a 
farewell kiss on the glittering pinnacles of 
an eternally condemned city. At the same 
moment the blessed Son of God was depart- 
ing from the city and giving it over to fatal 
and damnable unbelief. The glorious Sun of 
Righteousness was also just at that moment 
setting never more to rise with his healing 
beams upon that once blessed and splendid, 
but now anathematized town. She had com- 
mitted the sin for which there is no forgive- 
ness in this world nor in that world which is 
to come. 

This had been a most momentous day — a 
day the like of which had never been in all 



198 THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 

the history of the world. It was the winding 
up of the greatest life that ever was lived on 
earth, and it was lifting the curtain for the 
greatest tragedy in all history. It was the last 
offering of mercy to a desperately wicked peo- 
ple, and the deliberate preparation for the 
commission of the greatest crime humanity 
can perpetrate. 

But perhaps the most beautiful and instruc- 
tive thing that occurred during this last day 
of our Savior's public ministry has not been 
here mentioned. Some time during the day 
Christ was sitting in the temple over against 
the treasury, the place where the money of- 
ferings were deposited. Many came to put in 
their freewill offerings to the Lord, the rich 
and the poor together, for here all have like 
privileges. Each gave as his heart prompted. 
Some doubtless gave large amounts and with 
good intent. Some came in great pomp and 
style, desiring to be noticed by those that 
were thronging the temple. Christ seems to 
have carefully watched the performance for 
some time. His penetrating eye had accurate- 



THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 199 

ly sized up every one that had come in, and 
counted unerringly every offering made. He 
had counted not only the number of mites and 
farthings, but he also calculated infallibly the 
motive, the true spiritual value of every gift, 
and the result was then publicly announced 
to the givers and all present. How interest- 
ing it would be to have such a report read 
after each collection that is taken in our 
churches! Might it not increase our collec- 
tions and make them more acceptable than 
all the unhallowed schemes now used? But 
is not just such a record really kept and by 
the same infallible Recorder, who will some 
day read the result? 

But the one that attracted the attention of 
Christ more than all the others was not one 
of the imposing figures that moved pompously 
in to deposit his gift, desiring to be observed 
by the crowd. To be seen of men seems to be 
one of the weaknesses of our unsanctified na- 
ture. But here one comes who, if noticed at 
all, was noticed to be avoided. She bears the 
marks of toil and sorrow; she is clad with the 



200 THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 

garments of one who has not much of this 
world's goods, but withal she is tidy and 
clean, and her whole appearance and bearing 
show that there is within a noble and humble 
spirit. It is quite evident that she is not in 
the enjoyment of even the necessaries of life, 
and that she has a double portion of life's 
cares and burdens. She not only labors for 
her daily maintenance, but her toils earn for 
her only a very scanty support. Each day's 
earnings is scarcely enough to provide for the 
constantly returning wants of herself and her 
dependent little ones. It is late in the after- 
noon and she has just completed a hard day's 
labor in some busy, dirty mart, or in the em- 
ploy of some wealthy firm where the work is 
slavish and unremitting and the pay so small 
that the proprietors must first murder their 
consciences before they can count out the mi- 
croscopic wages to their overworked em- 
ployees. 

In this particular case it was two mites, 
making one farthing. This little sum was all 
she had to sustain life that night and the 



THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 201 

coming day. As she wends her way toward 
her humble home, tired and hungry, she passes 
by the temple, and she is suddenly reminded 
that she has not deposited her offering to the 
Lord, the weekly tithe of her very small in- 
come. But how can she pay anything when 
she has only this for both her offering and 
her living? Shall she divide the very small 
hard earned sum and give only part of what 
is due the Lord's treasury and save part for 
herself and family, live on half of her already 
too scanty rations? That would look hard in- 
deed. That would far surpass all ordinary 
sacrifice for the cause of Christ. How many 
who profess to be consistent Christians and 
have a hundred fold greater income than this 
woman, excuse themselves from giving any- 
thing at all to the Lord. But this woman 
does not seem to debate the matter for a 
single moment as to whether she shall give, 
or how much, but, humbly and almost stealth- 
ily, passes in and gives the whole amount that 
is due, which takes all her living, the whole 
day's wages. Perhaps a few crusts at home 



202 THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 

are all that is left for her sustenance until 
another day's work is done, 

Penniless and hungry she hastens home, 
; bearing no bundles, no provisions, but with a 
conscience void of offense, and wearing a 
'glorious yet invisible crown placed on her 
brow by the very hand of the Son of God. 
Why has she thus robbed herself of her liv- 
ing to give to the Lord his portion? Was it 
just to keep up an appearance and to be do- 
ing as others do? It would have been very 
dearly bought style. Would not observers 
who knew her stringent circumstances scoff- 
ingly remark that she had better save her 
mites for the daily needs of her family? 
Would they not call it mock piety that takes 
the bread out of the very mouths of the hun- 
gry children to pay the Lord's tithe? Would 
not even the most pious say that it was no 
part of her duty to rob herself of the neces- 
saries of life to give to the church? So the 
very best people talk — even now. 

And after all what does her offering amount 
to? Her giving or withholding does not af- 



THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 203 

feet the sum-total in the least. How people 
do constantly ply this argument to quiet their 
conscience on the subject of giving. It is dif- 
ficult to determine which is the most de- 
testable in the sight of the Lord, the poor 
man who is too proud to give anything be- 
cause he cannot give a big, showy sum, or 
the rich Pharisee who gives a large, hand- 
some offering, just to keep up an appearance. 
Weighed by the proud, wealthy Pharisee, the 
widow's offering is altogether lighter than 
vanitj'. He despises not only the insignificant 
amount, but he scorns the person who has 
given it. To the proud poor man this widow 
is nothing but a stark fool to pinch herself 
to keep up with wealthier people and sup- 
port a rich church. But we may be thankful 
that we are not to be judged by those who 
see only outwardly, and measure things only 
by their external or physical size. In the 
minds of some such a narrow minded, sarcas- 
tical criticism is the guide in forming an esti- 
mate, regardless of all justice. 

But there is one who sees the motives. 



204: THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 

There is a pair of balances so sensitive that 
they are moved by the least purpose of the 
human soul. These balances are in the hand 
of an impartial judge who never misreads the 
result. These are the balances that are used 
in determining the real value of every thing 
that is done for Christ, whether it be done 
by the rich Pharisee or the menial servant. 
AYhile the Son of God watched this collection 
as it progressed, each gift was promptly and 
correctly weighed. There were no mistakes 
in this work. It is precisely so with every- 
thing we do for Christ now, whether it be 
giving money, or worship, or any other serv- 
ice we can render to him. In the weighing of 
our gifts to the Lord, three things are con- 
sidered that enter into the make-up of their 
value: 

First, the actual size of the gift, the real 
money value we place on it. 

Second, the relative value, its relative size 
as compared with the amount possessed by 
the giver as his regular income. 

Third, the motive in giving it. 



THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 205 

The first of these is least to be considered. 
In fact we do not know whether the Lord 
cares anything at all for the actual size of 
these gifts, beyond that they express our real 
motives and measure the degree and charac- 
ter of our love for him. It is his method and 
his glory to bring great results out of small 
human or visible means and in this way man- 
ifest his divine hand in the accomplishment 
of his work. We have remarkable illustra- 
tions of this principle in the case of Samson 
slaying a thousand with the jawbone of an 
ass, the three hundred under Gideon defeat- 
ing the thousands of the Midianites, the feed- 
ing of the five thousand with the five loaves 
and two fishes; and so very often in ancient 
and in modern Christian history. 

The relative size of the gift regulates the 
external form of giving. The gifts are to be 
according as the Lord has prospered us. As 
he gives to us, so must we give to him in 
return. In this widow's case the utmost lim- 
it was reached in this requirement. She gave 
all of her living. Hence the relative size of 



20G THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 

her gift was larger than that of any one else 
who contributed at that time. She could not 
have done more. So in this respect her offer- 
ing was of the highest order. And judging 
from Christ's verdict the widow's motive in 
giving was as pure as the amount was rela- 
tively large, for if the inner form of the giv- 
ing was faulty, it would have invalidated all. 
Paul says: ''Though I give all my goods to 
feed the poor and have not charity — the true 
inner principle, character, motive — it profiteth 
me nothing." It is the motive, the soul char- 
acter in giving, and, in all, service to Christ 
that gives it value. 

Did Christ linger in the temple on this the 
last evening of his public ministry in order 
to select and give to us a genuine example 
and illustration of right-giving? If so, should 
we not most carefully study this remarkable 
character and her action that made her the 
subject for this most important precept of 
Christ? The advancement of the kingdom of 
Christ in the world and the right development 
of Christian character depend perhaps more 



THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 207 

upon right-giving to the Lord than any one 
thing in the whole compass of Christian duty. 
This rightly done would at once bring into 
active play all the monetary and spiritual 
powers of the church, as well as the activ- 
ity necessary to accomplish the work. The 
withholding of these gifts makes all the vast 
wealth of the church nothing but latent force 
at best, and at the same time fatally dwarfs 
and paralyzes the spiritual personality of the 
church. 

So far as we are able to see there was no 
prearranged plan on the part of Christ for 
this occasion. This woman was doubtless a 
stranger to him, and perhaps to all that came 
in. Each one came in his own way and time 
and made his offering. They had often been 
there for the same purpose. Precisely the 
same thing may have occurred every week, or 
at least on each great preparation day. So 
what took place on this occasion was only a 
bit of every day life among those people. 
Only on that day Christ was sitting over 
against the treasury and taking note of the 



208 THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 

offerings as they were put in. Christ only 
gives us a vitascopic picture of the scene, and 
brings into play the X rays which show us the 
true character of the givers. The immortal 
heroine of the occasion is this unknown wom- 
an — known only by her offering to the Lord, 
and not indeed by the magnitude of her gift, 
but by the spirit of the giver. She is the 
model giver, and as such alone she is im- 
mortalized by the impartial judge. And just 
as she is immortalized by Christ, so is she also 
made the model for all right giving. What 
are some of the thoughts suggested by this 
remarkable character? 

1. This case was so selected as to be of uni- 
versal application in the Christian world. She 
is a perfect example to all, regardless of 
wealth or rank. A very rich person able to 
give largely would not have answered the pur- 
pose. All poorer people could at once say 
that it is impossible for them to imitate the 
rich giver. A person of moderate circum- 
stances could not have served as a universal 
model. It must be one whom all can imi- 



THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 209 

tate perfectly, from the most indigent to the 
most lucrative. But such a model can be 
found only in one who has certain essential 
characteristics, as is true of all perfect mod- 
els. There must be extreme poverty, a sub- 
sistence upon the smallest possible income, 
and that income earned by constant daily toil. 
Thus every mite is a sacrifice and every farth- 
ing a day's living. Every offering to the Lord 
is taking bread from the mouth or clothes 
from the back, and is felt in the keenest man- 
ner by the giver. 

Second, there must be the right state of 
heart in the giving. It is the heart and not 
the hand that gives truly. Until this is the 
character of the giving the largest gifts nu- 
merically are totally worthless to the Lord. 
And third, the giving must be to the ut- 
most ability of the giver. What she gave was 
all she had and all she could command. All 
she had that day and all she had any day. 
She never had on hand more than one day's 
earnings, and it was impossible for her to lay 

up from one day to another. So she went 
14 



210 THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 

literally to the utmost of her ability. Now if 
we combine these characteristics we have a 
perfectly ideal giver, and one that all may 
understand and imitate. 

Here is the great divine law of giving. Let 
this be the law of the church, and of every 
individual member, and there will no longer 
be any lack of funds in the treasury of the 
Lord's house, and the cause of Christ will 
languish no more. But how is the church to 
come up to this divinely selected model? Was 
the collection that Christ so carefully observed 
in the temple a fair sample of what he sees 
in our churches every Sabbath day? 

2. The woman gave what was due to the 
Lord, regardless of how much others gave, or 
how much was needed by the church. This 
principle is of the utmost importance. The 
two rules that regulate givers generally are, 
first, how much do others give, and second, 
how much is needed, or rather, how much 
will at all answer the purpose. It is sur- 
prising how few give as the Lord prospers 
them, regardless of how much others do, and 



THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 211 

regardless of how much may be needed for 
any particular purpose. But neither of these | 
considerations can in any sense measure what 
I owe to the Lord. I owe him as he pros- 
pers and blesses me, no matter what others 
may do. If we give only as others give, we 
allow other men to rule our conscience in 
the matter, and our giving, as also all of our 
religious services will become nothing more 
than a mechanical imitation of others. And 
if we attempt to give only as we suppose there 
may be present need, we are apt to reduce 
the demand to smallest possible minimum. 
Says God: "Bring ye in all the tithes and 
offerings," then the windows of heaven will 
be opened to us. How the church does rob 
itself of the richest blessings of heaven by 
withholding from God the gifts — the real 
debts — due him. How easy it is to quiet the 
conscience by flattering ourselves that we give 
as much as others, and that we have given 
our share of the stingy amount the congre- 
gation agrees to give to some special purpose. 



212 THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 

But jet how false is all such easily purchased 
peace. 

3. Just as Christ that afternoon sat and ob- 
served the ordinary doings of the common 
mass of people in this particular performance 
to determine the character of their doings, so 
he now observes the every day affairs of men 
and determines their true value. And he not 
only observes, but he infallibly records these 
transactions. Does not this same Christ ob- 
serve the daily buying and selling in our busi- 
ness houses? It is this common, every-day 
business that indicates the true character of 
men. It is not the special occasions that show 
the real character of the man and his deeds 
so much as his daily habit of life. Any one 
may make a fine appearance once in a great 
while, or do a noble deed under special cir- 
cumstances. But these do not demonstrate 
true character. There are very few persons 
who will not put on extra touches under unu- 
sual circumstances, or when they think there 
is a probability of being observed by those in 
authority. How careful is the cashier of a 



THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 213 

bank when he thinks there is danger of the 
examiner dropping in. How diligent are the 
employees when the boss is expected! This 
is a remarkable weakness in human nature. 
How Christ praises the servant that diligently 
and faithfully serves from true love and prin- 
ciple, and not from fear of being observed. 
Do men realize that Christ is noting all we 
do, and that these every-day things make up 
the sum-total of our lives? Hence Christ has 
taught us to do all things as unto the Lord 
and not as unto man. And hence the teach- 
ings of Christ must guide us, rather than the 
customs of men. Make this the great law of 
life, and every one of our deeds will receive 
precisely the same sanction from the blessed 
Master as did the small gift of the poor widow, 
it matters not whether w T e be rich or poor, in 
a high or low station in life. 

4. Not all small things are little, and not 
all large things are great. But there is a di- 
vine, governmental value put on all the af- 
fairs of men, and the motive is the stamp 
that indicates this value of an action. The giv- 



214 THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 

ing of a cup of cold water may be of more 
value than the building of a church or doing 
many wonderful works. The premium was 
put on the two mites, although there were 
some very much larger amounts contributed. 
Nothing that is really done unto the Lord is 
little in his sight, and nothing, however large 
it may be, that is not done unto him is really 
great. Things are great only as they are truly 
related to Christ, and they are small only as 
they ignore and dishonor Christ. 



THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 215 



CHAPTER X. 

THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS IN GROUP, 

" Give me the lowest place, 
Not that I dare 

Ask for that lowest place- 
But thou hast died 

That I might live and share 
Thy glory by thy side. 

" Give me the lowest place; 
Or, if for me, 
That lowest place too high, 

Make one more low 
Where I may sit and see 
My God, and love thee so." 

— C. G. RossettL 

Artists have painted many ideal groups with 
Christ as the central figure, representing im- 
portant scenes in his life among men. Many 
of these are surpassingly beautiful and im- 
pressive — once seen they are never forgotten. 
They show us Christ in various stages of life, 
and in many different circumstances. From 
these scores of life scenes we may select a 



216 THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 

gallery that will show us Christ from the 
manger to the ascension. 

We see him as the new-born babe in Bethle- 
hem adored by the wise men of the East who 
have come in search of the long expected King 
of the Jews. The wisest sages of the Orient 
doing homage to the infant child of a very 
poor and obscure young woman. A strange 
sort of reverence this must have been. 

We see him at the age of twelve years as 
he is in the temple disputing with the learned 
doctors of the law concerning the teachings 
of the Scriptures. At this tender age he ex- 
pounds the deep doctrines of the divine law 
with all the dignity and authority of the wis- 
est Rabbi, and even correcting the head mas- 
ters. 

We see him at the marriage feast in Cana 
of Galilee ministering to the wishes of his 
perplexed mother when they were short of 
wine. He is here just entering upon his pub- 
lic career, and performs his first miracle. The 
divine thought instantly changes the water 
into wine of the best flavor* 



THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 217 

We see him surrounded by half a score of 
children, some of them perched upon his knees 
gazing into his benign face, while with out- 
stretched hands he gently blesses those around 
him and says: "Of such is the kingdom of 
heaven." 

Again we see him at the grave of Lazarus 
in a group of friends and mourners. His own 
eyes are dim with the tears of sympathy, yet 
with all the dignity and authority of his di- 
vinity he calls forth the dead from the tomb. 

Yonder he appears in a group selected from 
two worlds — the inner circle of the Apostolic 
college are on one side, and on the other the 
glorified Moses and Elias, who are sent on 
some divine mission from the Father in the 
glory world to the incarnate Son. Looking 
again we see him in that notable group around 
the supper table in the upper room where he 
ate the Passover on that memorable night, and 
instituted the sacrament of the Lord's Supper, 
and then offered that remarkable intercessory 
prayer. In another of these celebrated groups 
we see Christ a little later with the drowsy 



218 THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 

three in the garden of Gethsemane, agonizing 
in sweat and blood, while a bright-winged an- 
fgel hovers over him, the helping messenger 
from heaven. 

The next scene presents to us "Christ be- 
fore Pilate," in the mock trial, where false- 
hood is the only accusing witness, and servil- 
ity, incarnate in the person of Pontius Pilate, 
gives him over to the crucifiers who are thirst- 
ing for his blood. 

We approach next the world picture on Cal- 
vary. There we see Christ on the cross sur- 
rounded by a group of various caste — thieves 
and gamblers, and executioners, and centu- 
rions, and women, friends and foes. Himself 
the uplifted Christ, scorned by one dying thief, 
and worshiped by the other, is a world pic- 
ture of to-day, some rejecting and others ac- 
cepting the crucified Christ. 

Once more we see him — this time on the 
Mount of Olives, as he majestically rises from 
the midst of a group with upturned faces, who 
eagerly watch him until he is charioted in a 
cloud and borne away. 



THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 219 

What a magnificent gallery these groups 
compose. What a series of studies in the life 
of Christ they present. How great the amount 
of human thought and skill and patience that 
is represented in their execution. What years 
of labor have been expended by the celebrated 
and gifted artists in many centuries and in 
various countries. What mints of money have 
been paid for the possession of these rare spec- 
imens of art. What multitudes of travelers 
and pilgrims have stood and gazed in silent 
awe upon these paintings as if in the presence 
of the very Christ himself. With bared head 
the vassal and the king together pay their 
homage to talent of ages gone by. How many 
artists have vied with one another in striving 
to create the ideal Madonna, or to give to the 
world a perfectly correct head of the blessed 
Christ. These were the two favorite subjects 
among the great masters. The Madonnas and 
the heads of Christ have been created in every 
conceivable ideal, each artist having his own 
fancy. And all manner of groupings have 
been made around the person of Christ. 



220 THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 

But no artist has ever painted the group of 
the "Nameless Immortals" — a group composed 
of those nameless unknown women of various 
kinds who appear but once in the life of Christ 
and pass on. Of all the groups that he col- 
lected around himself, this is the most signif- 
icant. Each figure represents a most wonder- 
ful achievement on the part of Christ, and a 
most remarkable character in itself. What 
a subject this group presents, by which some 
master artist will yet render himself immortal. 
In this group in which Christ is, of course, the 
central figure, he must be represented as far 
as possible, in his special relation to each char- 
acter. And each one of the women has a his- 
tory, and her own peculiar characteristics, 
which must as far as possible be represented 
in the picture. In all the gatherings of hu- 
man beings there was never a group to equal 
this. It is unique in every particular. 

The characters are exceedingly interesting. 
They were selected by Christ himself and ar- 
ranged so as to give the greatest and clearest 
possible life-lessons to the world in all time 



THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 221 

to come. The characters he has selected and 
the manner of bringing them into this repre- 
sentative group was precisely according to his 
wise purpose. In his going about among the 
people he here and there found a character 
that was representative and that precisely suit- 
ed his purpose. And he was each time 
brought into contact with these persons ap- 
parently by accident. It would seem that he 
just happened to be at the gate of the city 
of Nain at the right moment, or at Jacob's 
well, or in the treasury in the temple. But 
these were not accidents any more than was 
his birth in Bethlehem, or his crucifixion be- 
tween two thieves. His absence from Beth- 
any at the time when Lazarus died was not 
accidental, but that the power of God might 
be made manifest. So his going to dine with 
a certain critical Pharisee on a certain day 
was also that the glory of God might be man- 
ifest. So just as the selecting of each one 
in this remarkable group w T as the center of a 
divine purpose, so the group itself is the focus 
where all these purposes meet to form one of 



222 THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 

those beautiful constellations that will adorn 
the Savior's brow, the stars of which were 
once obscured or lost — jewels gathered from 
the outcast rubbish of earth and polished and 
refined by the skilled hand that built the 
heavens. 

In the study of the collecting of these jew- 
els we were enabled to see something of the 
process of polishing and refining them. While 
Christ was selecting and educating the Col- 
lege of the Apostles to be the great leaders 
in the church under his dispensation, and 
while he was by his teachings explaining and 
developing the inspired doctrines of his king- 
dom, he was also quietly selecting this group 
to illustrate the spirit and power of the Gos- 
pel in its application to humanity and to show 
the nature of its saving effects upon all classes 
of fallen human beings. It was not only the 
government and the doctrine of his kingdom 
that Christ must establish by his work and 
preaching while in the world, but he must 
show by actual examples who can be saved, 
and how it is to be accomplished by human 



THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 223 

agencies. The group before us shows some of 
the actual results of his work, and how he 
accomplished it. A moment's attention to the 
group itself will enable us to understand more 
clearly the design of the divine Artist. 

In the center of the group we see the famil- 
iar representation of Christ. Around him on 
every side is a group of women only, to the 
right and to the left, behind and before we 
see them, and in various attitudes and pos- 
tures. That the Son of God should place him- 
self in the midst of such a company is of it- 
self an exceedingly interesting and significant 
act on his part. His face has the composite 
expression of love and pity, of firmness and 
dignity, of earnestness and surprise — in short, 
of all the soul powers that predominated 
while he was dealing with the different sub- 
jects around him. Now he looks with benign 
approbation upon the widow humbly offering 
her hard earned day's wages. Now it is the ex- 
pression of infinite pity as he approaches the 
bier and kindly asks the mother not to weep. 
Again it is anxious surprise as he quickly 



224 THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 

turns to see who had touched his garment. 
And now we see the dignified mien of a judge 
when he says to the woman, "neither do I 
condemn thee, go and sin no more." And so 
through the whole gamut. Let all these 
graces be melted into one expression and we 
have the ideal Christ in this group. His pos- 
ture has in it all the dignity of the God-man 
combined with that gentleness that would win 
the most vicious and degraded. He expresses 
by his countenance and his posture to each 
one in the group precisely the manifestation of 
divine grace that reaches out to her soul for 
her redemption. And each woman in turn 
sees in him precisely the divine remedy the 
state of her soul demands to give it purity 
and peace. 

And the postures of the women express at 
least to some degree the attitude of soul as 
they are about to receive the divine bless- 
ing. On the extreme right of the group we 
see standing erect the typical Samaritan wom- 
an, with her water bottle in hand. On her 
face there is an expression of mingled shame 



THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 225 

and surprise, as she now feels the searching 
eye of Christ gazing on her, and hears him 
read her inmost character. She suddenly and 
unexpectedly receives the light. She finds 
the treasure before it is even sought. The light 
surprises her, and the revelation of her guilt 
by a stranger adds astonishment and shame. 
She is one of the most prominent and inter- 
esting figures in the group, and worthy of 
careful notice. On the left of the Samaritan 
and a little rearward stands one clad in mourn- 
ing, with her head bowed and weeping in the 
bitterness of grief. The last ray of hope has 
vanished and deep despair is depicted in every 
feature of her sad yet beautiful face. Her 
dress distinctly indicates that she has been 
for a time bereft of her husband, and to this 
is added the garments of fresh and deeper 
mourning. She cannot even so much as lift 
up her eyes to look on Christ ; but in trembling 
anxiety waits. She is a perfect type of woman 
in the extremity of bereavement and trial. 
On the extreme left we see in widow's garb, 

and with marks of utmost poverty, an earnest 
15 



22G THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 

faced woman, devoutly bowing her head, and 
extending her hand. Between the thumb and 
finger are two small pieces of money just in 
the act of slipping out. Her entire appear- 
ance is that of a busy, laboring woman, scarce- 
ly earning enough each day to meet the ab- 
solute necessaries of life. Looking at her she 
strikes us as one who does not care to be 
observed in what she is about to do, but pre- 
fers to pass on unnoticed. To her right and 
farther back in kneeling posture, with an in- 
tensely earnest upturned face and pleading 
eyes, is another widow. She is pitifully plead- 
ing for some favor, not from Christ, but from 
some unseen person. Her expression would 
indicate that what she asks is of the utmost im- 
portance, and that there is a determination 
not to yield, not to depart until the request 
be granted. 

Behind Christ and rightward, is a woman in 
a forward leaning posture, with her arm ex- 
tended at full length forward and downward, 
and her finger reaching almost in touch with 
the hem of his garment. Only one thought is 



THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 227 

expressed in her countenance — "May I but 
touch the hem of his garment." Apparently 
her whole soul is concentrated in the tip of 
her finger. Her attitude indicates the utmost 
tension to accomplish her purpose. 

Behind leftward is an advancing figure. It 
is that of a woman bowed down, with long 
flowing hair, half concealing her face. She is 
weeping and the tears are streaming profusely 
from her eyes. She is apparently stooping 
lower and lower as she advances. Her tread 
is very light and her approach silent. In her 
right hand she carries a small box of ointment. 
Her whole mien indicates that she does not 
want to be observed. Before the central fig- 
ure .and to the right, we see one dressed in 
foreign garb, with her face bowed to the 
ground in a worshiping posture. Her atti- 
tude is that of extreme humility and submis- 
sion, while her half concealed face has an ex- 
pression of determination and will power that 
means conquest. She is the very incarnation 
of determination and perseverance. 

Before and leftward is the figure of a piti- 



228 THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 

fully deformed crooked woman. Her body is 
bent and stiff with chronic affliction. Her 
face, prematurely aged and with many marks 
of extreme acute suffering, is upturned with a 
smile and beams of hope playing over it, as 
if suddenly aroused by some cheerful voice 
from a long state of hopeless despondency. 
Her expression is that of very earnest, hope- 
ful expectation, as if she were instantly to be 
rejuvenated and straightened to beautiful 
womanhood. In the front center and a little 
farther removed, stands a figure with bowed 
head, and face covered with shame and fear. 
Her garb and general appearance are not to 
her credit, and indicate that she has been 
ruthlessly forced into her present position. 
Her face is the very confession of guilt and 
basest sin, while she has much the appearance 
of one who is about to hear the severest sen- 
tence of the law, and to be instantly executed. 
Such is a brief sketch of this remarkable 
group. Words are, however, inadequate to ex- 
press the full significance of these characters. 
Nor could the brush of the most skilled art- 



THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 229 

ist do more than give a faint idea of the per- 
sons represented here, each one of which is 
the personification of great truths and princi- 
ples in humanity, in Christ and in redemption. 
Here we see represented the world in its ap- 
proach to Christ, and Christ in his approach 
to humanity in all of its depravity and suf- 
fering. 

And could we impart life to this group and 
watch for a little while the dealings of Christ 
with each one of these characters, we should 
see in a panorama every phase of actual re- 
demption wrought by Christ upon those with 
whom he came in contact, and should see 
in this as a world picture just what Christ 
has done and is constantly doing for the world 
which he came to redeem. Looking again at 
this group from another point of view we see 
other interesting and important facts that add 
to the significance of the picture as regards 
both Christ and humanity. It will be seen 
that two of the group are foreigners — those 
for whom Christ did not come to bring bless- 
ings primarily. And one of these foreigners 



230 THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 

is a despised Samaritan. The Jews and the 
Samaritans had absolutely no dealings with 
one another. The hatred seems to have been 
on both sides alike, and had been so for cen- 
turies past. So we would scarcely expect that 
they would receive any of the immediate bless- 
ings of Christ's advent. Yet we see one in 
this select group. And she is not only a 
Samaritan, but she is one in whom there was 
absolutely nothing to give any claim to such 
a place. The other foreigner is rather a 
unique character as to her nationality. She 
is a woman of Canaan, a Greek by birth, and 
a Syro-Phoenecian by nationality. We can 
very readily see in her a type — a representa- 
tion of the Gentile world in general. In the 
Samaritan woman we have represented the 
semi-heathen, while in the Greek Canaanite 
there is the pure Gentile type, and both to- 
gether show us the whole of mankind, save the 
Jews only. We see also while Christ is seek- 
ing the one — the Samaritan — the other is most 
earnestly seeking Christ. He came to remove 
national enmities and differences and to be 



THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 231 

sought after by all peoples. He is indeed the 
light of the world and the desire of all nations. 
In this little group of nine women we notice 
at least three widows, possibly four. And the 
record indicates that they are all extremely 
poor. One is at the collection box as the 
model giver. Another is at the feet of the 
unjust judge, the model of importunate prayer, 
The other is at the gate the model of bereave- 
ment and grief. These widows show us at 
once the poorest and most bereft and most 
dependent of all human beings. And they 
show us Christ's mission to all such. Truly 
he came to enrich the poor, to relieve the op- 
pressed, and to bind up the broken-hearted. 
He is indeed a Husband unto the Widow and 
a Father to the orphan. How large a part 
of the human race are represented by these 
three widows. Take out all the poor, and all 
the oppressed, and all the bereft and broken- 
hearted and how few will be left! What a 
boon to humanity that Christ came to give 
beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, 
and praise for sadness. Two of this group 



232 THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 

are suffering with chronic bodily afflictions 
for which there was no human remedy, but 
both are instantly healed when brought into 
contact with him. It is worthy of special note 
that one of these was healed by the laying 
on of Christ's own hand — his touch, while the 
other was healed by her own touch. Christ 
sought the one and called her to him and 
blessed her. It was the act of his own will. 
The other sought Christ and touched him and 
obtained the blessing even before she knew 
it. It was the action of her will in the case. 
Here we see again the two great elements in 
humanity — some must be sought after and 
saved as it were per force, while others are 
seeking the blessing for themselves a:s soon 
as they know where to obtain it, but both are 
equally incurable by human power. What an 
apt illustration this of the hid treasure and 
the pearl of great price referred to in the par- 
ables of our Lord explaining the kingdom of 
God as found by different persons. Thus we 
see Christ's work continually illustrating and 
confirming his teaching, especially his para- 



THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 233 

bles. Once more we see in this group three 
women of noted sinful character — they are 
sinners in the most significant sense. One is 
living in adultery with a man supposed to be 
her husband. She was no doubt a noted char- 
acter from the fact that she had had five hus- 
bands, all or none of whom might be still 
living, but now she has one who is not her 
husband. She was discovered in her sin and 
convicted before she was aware of it. Another 
of these three came to Christ of her own ac- 
cord in the most humble and penitent man- 
ner. She had seen her own sinfulness and was 
disgusted with the sight of herself, and com- 
ing to Christ expressed her reformation in a 
most unmistakable way. She it was that 
washed the Savior's feet with tears and wiped 
them with the hairs of her head, and repeat- 
edly kissed them. The third, and possibly the 
worst of all, was brought to Christ by a wicked 
hypocritical mob who were eager to stone her 
upon the slightest pretext. Of her guilt there 
was no possible doubt. It was both heinous 
and aggravated. How Christ dealt with these 



234 THE NAMELESS IMMORTALS. 

has already been seen. The first is sin con- 
cealed. The second is sin confessed. The 
third is sin exposed by man. But in each case 
we see the amazing skill and wisdom of Christ. 
And the whole furnishes a remarkable illus- 
tration of how he deals with all sinners. It 
shows in action what he expressed in words 
when he said, "I came not to judge the world, 
but to save the world," and, "though your sins 
be as scarlet they shall be as white as snow, 
though they be red like crimson, they shall 
be as wool." 



THE END, 



APR 27 1901 



